


in their corner of the world

by sakuranohiraishin



Category: Keyakizaka46 (Band), Sakurazaka46 (Band)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - High School, Bullying, F/F, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:40:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 67,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27118339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakuranohiraishin/pseuds/sakuranohiraishin
Summary: [This is their corner of the world, where nothing that happens outside matters.]Hidden behind Sakurazaka Gakuen's pristine reputation lies the painful past of its third-year students. Brought together by Matsuda Rina, the new first-year students work together to uncover the truth and try to fix their seniors' problems.
Relationships: Habu Mizuho/Koike Minami, Hirate Yurina/Nagahama Neru, Moriya Akane/Sugai Yuuka
Comments: 17
Kudos: 63





	1. 01

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The warnings in the tags don't apply to all chapters; when they apply, it will be mentioned in an author's note.

It is six in the morning when the alarm rings, forcefully breaking the silence in the room.

Even so, it doesn’t startle Yuuka, who has been awake for at least an hour already. Her mind going over the speech she will give to greet the new students today, she has been lying awake in the dark for a while now.

Next to her, a slightly younger girl stirs, rubbing her eyes with a soft, sleepy groan. “Yuuka… turn off the alarm.” When she’s still half asleep, Akane’s ‘kindness filter’ just doesn’t work yet.

Yuuka smiles a little and turns off the alarm, like she was asked to. “Good morning, Akanen.” She calls the girl by her nickname just this once, knowing that they’ll have to pretend to be nothing to each other for the entire day.

Akane leans up and presses a quick kiss to the other girl’s cheek. “Morning.” Realizing how awake Yuuka looks, she adds, “But I guess you were already awake, huh?”

In silence, Yuuka nods and gets off the bed, walking over to the wardrobe to take out a clean school uniform. Her breath hitches slightly when she feels arms wrap around her waist from behind. “Akane?”

“You’re worried about your speech.”

“And about greeting all the new students.” Akane knows her so well that Yuuka finds herself unable to hide anything from her. “The media are going to be there.”

Akane’s eyebrows furrow and her fingers dig into Yuuka’s shoulders, starting to massage the President a little. “If they say anything bad about you, I’ll beat them up.”

“Please don’t get into trouble, that will only have the opposite effect of what you want.” Yuuka’s expression softens a little. “But… thank you. I appreciate your help.”

“I’ll give the speech if you want me to. I’m your Vice President, nobody will question it if you say you’re not feeling well.”

“No, they _will_ question it. They know how to get to me.” Yuuka’s hands clench to fists, gripping the fabric of her school uniform tightly.

White. Pristine white fabric, like the reputation of the school. Like the reputation of the school _used to be_ , until two years ago when the front runner in the Student Council President election, Hirate Yurina, left the school for reasons unknown to the public and Yuuka, who had not even been a candidate, became the President instead.

It was not Yuuka’s fault, but she still feels guilty, because she knows why it happened; and she wishes she didn’t. 

“Yuuka.” Akane’s voice makes her focus again, makes her feel so thankful that she has this girl by her side. “Yuuka, it’ll be okay. It’s been okay for two years. I know this first day of the year always gets to you, but I think these new students are young enough not to know about what happened. I don’t think they’ll judge you.”

Yuuka sighs softly, putting on a smile. “Yes. Thank you, Akane.”

“No problem. Now get dressed, I’m sure Fuu-chan is waiting for us already.”

* * *

Watanabe Risa watches the preparations for the first day of the school year unfold from behind the scenes. Last year, things became a bit of a mess, and this time, she wants no part in that kind of thing; and on top of that, she has been forbidden from introducing her own club this year. She still hates the Student Council, but over the past two years, she has calmed down enough to know when it’s best to stay away from them.

The first-years’ entrance ceremony is not a good time to confront Yuuka and Akane about the past; while Risa thinks it would only be fair for the outside world to learn what happened two years ago, the media might also uncover some truths about her own family that nobody was supposed to know.

“Risa?” a voice speaks up next to her, forcing her to focus on reality again. Her roommate Aoi and her friend Yui are standing there, watching her curiously. “Is everything okay?”

Risa tears her eyes away from Yuuka, who is tugging at the hem of the shirt of her uniform to adjust it. “Yeah, everything is fine.”

“Are you sure?” Yui sounds a little more concerned than necessary. Risa isn’t sure what the younger girl feels for her, but she hopes it’s nothing more than a deep friendship.

“Of course I’m sure.” A small smirk spreads on Risa’s lips and she momentarily glances back towards Yuuka, relishing the nervousness the Student Council President exudes. “She’s nervous, that’s good. Everything is great.”

Yui’s expression turns into a slight frown. “Come on, I’m sure she’s not that bad of a person.”

“‘You’re sure?’ Do you even know what you’re talking about?” The words leave Risa’s lips before she can hold them back. She genuinely likes Yui, but having to watch Yuuka speak to the first-years like this makes her upset every time it happens.

“No, I don’t know. Because a certain _someone_ won’t even let me speak to _any_ Student Council member.” Yui seems to be on edge too, her words making Aoi fidget in discomfort next to her. This topic causes a dispute between them every time it comes up in a conversation. “You never let me know the whole story, Risa. It’s always just ‘Sugai-san hurt Yurina,’ but maybe she didn’t do it on purpose-”

Risa points at the door at the end of the hallway that they’re standing in. “If you don’t want me to hurt you, you’d better leave right now, Yui.” Her voice has become a low growl as she is clearly growing more and more upset.

Yui glares at her and spins on her heels, stomping down the hallway without a response. Maybe this year, she will actually have to start talking to some Student Council members in order to figure out what made Risa hate them so much.

“And you?” Risa turns towards Aoi threateningly. “Are you on her side?”

Aoi sighs quietly and shakes her head. “No. I’m on your side, you know that.” Maybe she likes Risa a little too much, but she also thinks this is not her battle to fight. Neither she nor Yui was there when ‘the Hirate story,’ as some students have jokingly dubbed it, went down, so Aoi wants to stay out of the rivalries between Risa and the Student Council as much as possible.

Risa clicks her tongue and turns back to glare at Yuuka from afar. “Maybe I should just push her off the roof someday so she’ll know how Techi felt.”

“Please don’t become too violent, you’ll only get in trouble. Her family owns the school, after all.” Aoi sounds a little exasperated now. She’s been Risa’s roommate for a year now, and she’s had to grow up quickly, to grow into a reliable voice of reason that keeps the older girl out of trouble. Being a student at Sakurazaka Gakuen is not as fun as Aoi had hoped it would be.

* * *

\- 1 year earlier -

_Kobayashi Yui only comes to Sakurazaka Gakuen thanks to a scholarship granted to her due to her singing skills. When she arrives with her parents in their small, cheap car, she is both impressed and a little intimidated by all the expensive limousines in the parking lot, and by the elegant school building itself._

_It feels nothing like her middle school. There are fewer new students, which is obvious since her middle school was a public school, and all of them wear clothes that look much more expensive that Yui’s own._

_Her mother grins at her, not seeming to realize what her daughter is worrying about. “See, the school is so nice, Yui! I’m sure you’ll find friends in no time!”_

_“If I don’t get bullied for having no money,” Yui whispers to herself, but nods and puts on a smile for her parents. “Yes, I’m sure everything will be great.”_

_“Make sure to impress them with your singing,” her father smiles, obviously proud, as he pats his daughter’s shoulder. “Everyone will love your voice, I’m sure.”_

_And Yui decides to listen to their encouragement and to keep it in her mind for when things get tough, because she is sure they will._

_Much to her surprise, she already finds two almost-friends during the ceremony that is held for the new first-year students. Harada Aoi and Koike Minami’s families sit next to Yui’s, and Aoi cheerfully introduces herself to the two other girls._

_The Student Council President, Sugai Yuuka, seems a little uncomfortable behind her podium on the stage in the gym, but she gives her speech with as much confidence as she can muster. She seems to visibly calm down once she introduces her Vice President, Moriya Akane, and Aoi grins as she whispers to Yui and Minami, “I bet there’s something going on between Sugai-senpai and Moriya-senpai.”_

_After they have finished their speech, they call the captains of the school’s clubs onto the stage to talk about their clubs. Watanabe Risa, the captain of the volleyball club, is the third one to introduce herself and her club._

_She ends her introduction with the sentence, “Anyone is welcome in our club, except for those who plan on getting close to the Student Council.”_

_A confused murmur rises in the crowd as students whisper to each other and some entitled parents start talking about how their daughters are going to join the Student Council_ and _love volleyball._

_The Student Council Vice President rushes over towards Risa and hisses something at her, and Risa raises the microphone in her hand to her lips with a smirk. “Yes, this was necessary, Akane,” she says, letting everyone in the gym hear her. “I will not let anyone join the club who associates with the Student Council. I just wanted to make that clear before anyone gets their hopes up.”_

_Akane snatches the microphone from Risa’s hand with a frown. “Please don’t worry everyone, this problem will be dealt with shortly,” she tells the audience with a fake smile and then rushes off the stage, clearly appalled by Risa’s sudden announcement._

_Thus, Yui knows from the very beginning that Risa, very passionately, hates the Student Council. Her scholarship is related to music anyways, so she has no plans to join the volleyball club. But still, she comes into contact with Risa after roughly two weeks._

_On the condition that she swears not to break anything, she has just recently received a key to the music room, with the purpose of providing her with a space to practice her singing and guitar playing on her own. On the day when Yui first really meets Risa, she is sitting in the music room with her guitar, singing a few lines that she wrote herself in order to see which kind of melody fits them best._

_Suddenly, the door opens and someone steps into the room. Yui winces and looks up in surprise, recognizing Risa. “Watanabe-senpai?”_

_“Hello.” Risa remains silent for a few moments; then she clears her throat. “You’re the girl who’s here with a music scholarship.”_

_“Yes… I’m Kobayashi Yui.” Yui lowers her head slightly, giving Risa a cautious smile. She has been talking to a few members of the Student Council occasionally, to the point where she is considering joining them. And Risa hates people who get close to the Student Council, thus, she must hate Yui._

_Yet, Risa’s next words surprise Yui. “I don’t think you know what you’re getting yourself into.”_

_“What?”_

_“Aoi said you wanted to join the Student Council.”_

_“Yes, and I’m not planning to join the volleyball club, so you can just ignore me,” Yui says decisively. A part of her wonders when Aoi and Risa became close enough to talk about her, but this is not the time to ask that question._

_Risa’s eyebrows furrow. “They’ll hurt you,” she says slowly. “The Student Council of this school is a group of cruel people.”_

_Yui sighs quietly. “They’ve been nice to me so far. Fuyuka-senpai takes very good care of us first-years, and Sugai-senpai is a good President-”_

_“She was never supposed to be President,” Risa cuts in sharply, causing Yui to raise an eyebrow._

_“What do you mean?”_

_Realizing that this is where she has the upper hand - she has information that Yui wants - Risa seizes her chance. “If you join the Student Council, I won’t tell you.”_

_“That’s not really fair, but I guess I’ll just ask Fuyuka-senpai then.” Shrugging, Yui goes back to plucking at the strings of her guitar._

_Risa’s expression darkens. “They’re all dirty liars. Have they ever told you how Yuuka became the President?”_

_Yui raises one eyebrow, simply staring at Risa for a moment, before she looks back down at her guitar._

_“She pushed the actual front runner of the elections off the roof.” Risa turns around to leave the room slowly, her hands clenched to fists. “Think about it, Yui. If you really want to support a Student Council that, at its core, is founded on violence.”_

* * *

The parking lot in front of the school is filled with rich parents, their daughters and servants getting out of their expensive cars.

Many of them are chatting with each other animatedly while a few others stand awkwardly near their cars, not quite knowing what to do or where to go.

Yamasaki Ten belongs to the latter group, just standing there in silence while her family’s servant takes her luggage out of the car. Her parents had no time to accompany her here on her first day of school, so she is here alone, both annoyed at her parents and a little nervous about entering the large building in front of her.

“Hey!” a cheerful voice calls out to her, and when Ten turns around, she finds a smaller girl who is smiling at her brightly. “You looked kind of lonely, so I thought I’d come over here. You’re a first-year too, aren’t you?”

For a moment, Ten is a little astonished at how happy this girl seems to be here. She’s going to spend three years in this school, without being allowed to leave its grounds, away from her _home_ , and she can still smile like this? Cautiously, Ten nods. “...that’s right.”

“Great. Nice to meet you, I’m Matsuda Rina.” The girl is _still_ smiling.

“...Yamasaki Ten.” As she introduces herself, Ten mulls over the name the other girl just told her, and comes to a realization. “Matsuda, as in _that_ Matsuda? From the big charity event a few weeks ago?” Her parents attended that event, although Ten doesn’t know why because they’ve never cared much for charity.

Rina’s grin widens. “Yeah, that’s my family! I don’t think I saw you at the event, though…”

“Yeah, I had a school event.” Ten nods, pulling her jacket a little tighter around herself. The weather is not the greatest, and she’s shivering a little. A part of her wants to go into the school already because it’ll be warmer there; another part of her wants to get back into the car and go home.

“Oh, I see. Well, I get to meet you now, so it’s all good.”

Because she doesn’t understand how Rina’s mood can be so good at the prospect of being away from home for three years, Ten huffs into the collar of her jacket and glances at the other girl skeptically. “How are you so happy about all this?”

For the first time, Rina’s smile seems to fall a little, making way for a surprised expression. “How are you not? This school is great, isn’t it?”

“We just got into it because our parents have money, not because we have good grades or anything. Not really a reason for me to be super enthusiastic about it.” Ten turns her head when she hears her family’s servant calling her name.

“Ten-sama, we can go inside now, if you’d like.”

“Yes, please.” Ten nods at Rina briefly. “I’ll see you during the ceremony, I guess.” With that, she leaves Rina standing there and heads over towards the entrance of the school building.

Less than an hour later, she meets Rina again, this time in the crowd of new first-years that is gathering in the gym for the Student Council President’s greeting. Rows of chairs have been set up for them, and when Ten finds herself a chair towards the back of the gym, Rina rushes over to her, followed by two other girls. “Ten-chan, there you are!”

Ten nods cautiously, initially remaining silent as the two other girls approach her as well.

Noticing that Ten isn’t going to start any conversation, Rina starts it for her instead. “Guys, this is Yamasaki Ten. Ten-chan, this is Takemoto Yui, and this is Inoue Rina.”

It is then that Ten stops thinking about her as ‘Rina’ and decides to call her by her last name instead, just in order to avoid confusion. Again, she gives a cautious nod. “I… don’t mind if you sit with me,” she mutters, somehow knowing that this is what they came here for.

Matsuda smiles brightly and sits next to Ten, Takemoto and Inoue at her other side. While they wait for the ceremony to start, they notice a girl in Sakurazaka Gakuen’s white uniform leaning against the wall at the back of the gym, a frown on her face.

Curiously whispering, Matsuda leans forward, pulling Ten and Takemoto with her so she can speak directly into their ears. “Did you notice that girl at the back of the gym?”

“Must be one of our senpais,” Ten mutters, not quite understanding what Matsuda wants. “So what? They’re probably allowed to watch the ceremony.”

“Yeah, but why is she so unhappy?”

Ten shrugs, pulling herself out of the other girl’s hold. “Don’t know. This is our school now too, so I guess we’ll find out at some point.”

Matsuda looks a little disappointed at Ten’s ignorance and instead leans over towards Takemoto and Inoue, whispering conspiracy theories to them.

Then, the Student Council President steps onto the stage. She seems almost hesitant, even glancing back to someone who must be waiting in the backstage area. Once she stands behind the podium in the middle of the stage, she seems to have a silent conversation with that person after which another girl in a white uniform steps onto the stage as well, standing next to the President.

Finally, she clears her throat and starts to speak up. “Hello, everyone, and welcome to Sakurazaka Gakuen. My name is Sugai Yuuka, I’m the Student Council President, and this is Moriya Akane, the Vice President.”

Ten glances back at the girl behind them for a moment; if possible, her expression seems even darker now. In this moment, Ten decides that she wants no part in whatever problem the strange girl has with the Student Council President.

The ceremony goes by without any major incident. The President seems to have forgotten a few lines of her speech at one point, which causes the Vice President to jump in and speak for her, but other than that, everything seems normal - no, _perfect_. So far, the school perfectly matches the stories Ten has heard of it.

The members of each class are called onto the stage one by one to stand together, and Ten finds herself ever so slightly relieved when she notices that Matsuda, Takemoto, and Inoue are in her class. So far they’re not exactly close friends, but at least there are some familiar faces with her.

After the ceremony, the new first-years are sent to a large blackboard that holds a list of the bedroom assignments. Ten finds her name next to Room 107, together with another name she doesn’t recognize.

“Oh, there’s my name- wait, that’s some kind of amazing coincidence!” Matsuda exclaims in pure amazement when she finds her name together with those of Takemoto and Inoue. Ten almost wants to laugh at her reaction, but she holds herself back just in time and keeps the serious expression on her face.

The three of them high-five each other before Matsuda turns back to the list to look for Ten’s name. “Seki Yumiko? Her family is _really_ well off, I think they’re in the fashion business or something.”

“Do you know literally _everyone_?” Ten asks, ever so slightly incredulous.

“No, on the other hand, how do you _not_ know her?”

Ten shrugs, turning away a little. “I don’t really care about what my parents do. I didn’t even want to come here, in fact.”

Matsuda pretends to roll her eyes. “Well, it won’t be that bad, I’m sure. You just need to find some friends, and we’re here for that.” It’s a kind offer, and Ten finally allows a small smile to flash across her face.

“Okay. Thank you.”

* * *

Nearby, Tamura Hono stands together with her longtime friend Morita Hikaru. They grew up together and, with their families being neighbors, became close friends that still hang out together a lot. “See, we’re roommates!” Hono exclaims, a grin spreading on her lips; this is definitely a relief for her. Yes, she’s here to make new friends, but things are surely going to be easier with Hikaru as her roommate.

Hikaru seems happy as well, but after a few moments, her brows knit together slightly. “But you don’t seriously think they just randomly put us together, do you? Our parents probably paid them to let us room together.”

“I know… but still, it’s a relief, isn’t it? We can make new friends in class, but we won’t be separated from each other.”

“Well… yeah.” Hikaru nods, the smile returning to her lips. “Look at all these names… there’s some really famous people here, huh?”

Hono traces her finger down the list, reading through some of the names. “Seki Yumiko? Her parents own that one fashion corporation, right? Oh, and maybe Matsuda Rina has something to do with that Matsuda Foundation for Orphans in… what country was it again?”

“Yeah, I don’t remember either.” Hikaru grins sheepishly, her eyes meeting Hono’s as she admits that. “Well, if we really want to know, we can ask her. She’s in our year, after all.”

They decide to head to their room and maybe start unpacking already, and Hono changes the topic of their conversation as they walk towards the stairs that lead up to the first floor.. “So, what club are you going to join?” 

Hikaru purses her lips, silent for a few moments. “I’ll take a look at the art club,” she then decides. “And you? Volleyball, right?”

That has always been Hono’s main interest; so much that she has dragged Hikaru along for many of her games, even though Hikaru doesn’t care much about the sport itself. “Obviously,” Hono confirms, letting out a small laugh. “I heard their players are kind of good, so I’m excited for it.” Stopping in front of the room that has been assigned to them, she unlocks the door and steps inside first, followed by her best friend.

The room is spacious enough for the two of them, two single beds pushed up against the opposing walls. There also are two desks and two wardrobes, as well as a door that seems to lead to a small bathroom.

“I heard there’s some kind of ranking system in this school,” Hikaru muses as she drags her suitcase over to one of the wardrobes. “Like, you start out here on the first floor, but as time goes on, you can move to a room on a higher floor.”

“So what’s the criteria for that? When are you worthy of moving up?”

Hikaru shrugs as she opens her suitcase and starts to unload her clothes into the wardrobe. “Don’t know, maybe when you’re popular enough? I’m assuming the Student Council President lives on the top floor.”

Hono nods, flopping down on the bed and stretching her arms for a moment. Loud laughter from the neighboring room makes her raise an eyebrow as she looks at the wall. “We have loud neighbors, it seems.”

“We’ll have to put up with them until they allow us to move to a higher floor… if that ever happens.”

“Hey, I think both of us can become very popular. We’re cute.” Hono sits up, laughing.

A chuckle escapes Hikaru’s lips and she briefly pauses her unpacking to look back at her friend. “This is an all-girls school, I’m not sure anyone cares how cute we are. It’s probably more about belonging to the right groups.”

“Do you think volleyball is a popular sport here? I mean, there’s a club, obviously, but what if the Student Council doesn’t support them?”

Hikaru shrugs slightly, shaking her head with a small smile as she resumes her unpacking. “I don’t know, you’ll have to find out. By the way, when are you going to unpack?”

“Later. Let’s go look around the school now? And we need to pick up our uniforms, too.”

“Oh, right.” Hikaru gets up and picks up her key to the room. “Okay, let’s go. I don’t think they actually told us where to pick up our uniforms yet, right? So let’s see someone from the Student Council first.”

So the two of them head to the Student Council office, hoping that there will be someone who can give them answers to their questions. Surprisingly, a girl in a white uniform comes stomping out of the office as the two of them approach it, barely sparing them a glance as she heads towards the exit of the building.

A little stunned, Hono and Hikaru watch her walk away before they knock at the door to the office. When they step in, the Vice President is comfortingly patting the back of the President, who looks a little distraught.

“Uhm, are we interrupting something?” Hikaru clears her throat and asks, a slight frown on her face. “We can come back later…”

The Vice President seems to jump slightly upon hearing her voice. She whispers something into the President’s ear and then turns around to the two younger girls with a bright smile. “No, it’s all good. How can I help you?”

“We were wondering where we can pick up our school uniforms,” Hono explains, her eyes still on the President. “I don’t think I saw that on the info sheets we were given.”

“Ah, yes. The tailor will be here today and tomorrow in classroom 22, so you can go anytime you want and have your measurements taken. Just… maybe show her some mercy if there’s already a long line,” the Vice President chuckles, snapping her fingers once.

The sound makes Hono take her eyes off the President, which, judging by the Vice President’s satisfied expression, was likely the intention behind her action. 

Hikaru nods, and after a second of hesitation she asks, “Is there something wrong? We saw someone leaving the office, and she didn’t look very happy…”

Moriya Akane sighs quietly and shakes her head. “No, really, everything is fine. That was Watanabe Risa, the captain of our volleyball club.”

Hono perks up at the mention of her favorite sport. “The volleyball club?”

“Akane,” Yuuka calls the Vice President’s name softly, a serious expression on her face. 

Akane turns to look at her and seems to read something in her expression that is invisible to Hikaru and Hono. “I know,” she says before turning back to the two younger girls. “Risa is not exactly fond of the Student Council.”

Suddenly, Hono’s eyebrows furrow. “Right, she didn’t introduce her club during the ceremony either. Was that because…?”

“We didn’t let her, this time. Yes, maybe it’s a little unfair, but she caused some trouble last year, so we allowed her to put up more posters than the other clubs instead,” Akane explains, vaguely enough that Yuuka seems to relax a little behind her. “Since you seem interested in joining them, Hono-chan, you should know that she’ll make you choose between her and us. If you want to join the volleyball club, Risa will not allow you to speak to any Student Council members.”

“Why?” Hikaru blurts out in surprise, her eyes wide. “You seem like nice people.”

Akane laughs briefly, but her smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “Risa will tell you that we’ll only hurt you.”

“And will you…?”

Another sigh leaves Akane’s lips. “We have hurt _someone_ before, by accident, and Risa has not forgiven us,” she says, frowning, and her voice makes it clear that this is the end of their conversation. “Yuuka would never hurt any students on purpose. And now, please go and meet the tailor or something, Yuuka and I have work to do.”

This clearly is a sensitive topic, so the two younger girls mumble an apology as they leave the room. Once they’re back in the hallway, Hikaru stops in her tracks, her eyebrows furrowed. “Do you think they really did something bad?”

Hono shrugs slightly. “I mean, they did admit that they hurt someone,” she says slowly, her voice cautious. “But I do want to join the volleyball club.”

“Yeah, I’m not stopping you,” Hikaru nods as she starts to walk again, heading towards classroom 22. “I’m just… wondering who is right in this situation.”

“You don’t even know what the situation is like. And Moriya-senpai and Sugai-senpai clearly weren’t willing to tell us everything, so maybe we should stay out of it… I don’t think it’s our problem to solve.”

Hikaru lets out a hum of agreement, but deep down, she still wonders what might have happened to make Risa hate the Student Council so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Here](https://twitter.com/_satoshioris/status/1332986121731575808) is a thread on Twitter where I talk about my thoughts about this AU and where I'll post updates!
> 
> The warnings in the tags don't apply to all chapters; when they apply, it will be mentioned in an author's note.


	2. Kobayashi Yui

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a special chapter focused on Kobayashi Yui since it's her birthday today. It takes place after the cursive flashback in chapter 1.

\- 1 year earlier -

_ After that first meeting with Risa in the music room, Yui thinks about the older girl’s words a lot. She wonders if Risa is right, if the Student Council is really founded on violence. Risa has no reason to lie to her, but even so, maybe this is just her hatred for them speaking? _

_ She has no time to dwell on it for too long though, because the requirements of her music scholarship keep her busy in addition to the regular schoolwork. By the time Yui gets to spend an afternoon with Aoi again, a week has passed since her conversation with Risa. _

_ “You met Risa?” Aoi looks only half surprised when Yui tells her about the meeting. _

_ “And you told her about my plans to join the Student Council.” Yui folds her arms in front of her chest. “Why?” _

_ “I… don’t know, I guess I believe her stories about them hurting people… I mean, she must have a reason to hate them, right?” _

_ Yui sighs and rubs her forehead, her eyebrows furrowed slightly. “When did you get so close to Risa anyways? You’re not even in the volleyball club.” _

_ Aoi blushes a little, averting her eyes. “She helped me out in the library when I couldn’t reach a book I needed… and we kinda started hanging out occasionally after that. She’s a little strict sometimes, but she can be really kind! She said she protects all her friends from the student council and-” _

_ Yui’s eyes narrow as she looks at the other girl. “Wait, do you like her? You sound like you have a crush on her.” _

_ Aoi’s cheeks redden even more and she tries to hide her face. “N-no, I don’t!” _

_ “Sure, if you say so.” Thinking back to her conversation with Risa, Yui remembers that the older girl didn’t really seem to have any kind of feelings when mentioning Aoi’s name anyways. _

_ “...a-anyways, I asked her to protect you too, that’s why she approached you,” Aoi mutters, staring at the floor in embarrassment. _

_ Yui nods, finally understanding why Risa started talking to her out of nowhere. “That’s nice of you, but you don’t have to worry so much about me. Minami joined the Student Council too, don’t you remember? And she seems happy with them.” _

_ “That’s only because of Habu-san,” Aoi huffs. “Come on, Yui. Risa says they hurt people.” _

_ “And have you ever asked one of them if they did it on purpose?” _

_ Aoi falls silent, causing Yui to sigh heavily. _

_ “See, maybe they’re not that bad. You should give them a chance…” _

_ “But… then I won’t ever have a chance to be with Risa,” Aoi mutters under her breath, pouting. Clearly, she does like Risa, even if she doesn’t want to admit it. But then, an idea seems to strike her. “But! If you want me to give the Student Council a chance, then you have to give Risa a chance, too. She’s a good person, really.” _

_ Yui doesn’t doubt that; she just thinks that Risa has maybe been hurt a little too much in the past. “...fine. I’ll hang out with her a bit, okay? And… I’ll hold off on joining the Student Council for now.” _

_ Aoi smiles again, seeming relieved. “Thanks, Yui. Risa will be happy to hear that, too.” _

* * *

_ Despite her promise to give Risa a chance, Yui tries to avoid her for the next few days. She tries to avoid the Student Council members as well; luckily, she hasn’t told them about her willingness to join them yet, so nobody, with the exception of her roommate Imaizumi Yui, really questions it when she starts to shut herself into their room every afternoon. _

_ Finally, though, she makes the decision to stick with Risa for the time being. Maybe it is her selfishness that leads her to make that decision, but Risa is a beautiful girl, and Yui kind of wants to see if she’s actually as kind as Aoi says. _

_ So after a few days, Yui comes to the gym to watch the volleyball club practice, and when Risa walks over to her afterwards, Yui tells her, “I decided not to join the Student Council.” _

_ Risa looks oddly relieved upon hearing that. “Good. Believe me, you’ll be happier this way.” _

_ “But I have one condition,” Yui raises one finger, looking up at the older girl seriously. “I want to know why you hate them so much.” _

_ For a few moments, Risa remains silent, but then she nods. “I’ll tell you. Come to my room in half an hour.” _

_ A little surprised to see the other girl agree so easily, Yui nods quickly. “Okay. I’ll be there.” _

_ “Good. It’s room 304.” Without another word, Risa heads to the changing room to take off her sportswear. _

_ Yui waits in front of Risa’s room twenty-five minutes later, fully aware that she is five minutes early. She does not expect Risa to show up just yet, but only seconds after her arrival, the older girl walks down the hallway, raising an eyebrow and smirking slightly when she sees Yui. _

_ “You’re that eager to spend time with me?” _

_ A blush creeps onto Yui’s cheeks. “I’m that eager to learn what’s going on,” she retorts, telling herself that  _ no _ , she is not going to develop a crush on Risa and her stupidly beautiful face. _

_ Risa unlocks the door and leads the way into the room, closing the door behind Yui as well. _

_ The room is larger than Yui’s own, which is to be expected since Risa’s rank in the school’s hierarchy is much higher and she thus lives in one of the more luxurious rooms on the third floor. There is, however, a second bed in the room that appears to be unused. _

_ “You live alone?” Yui voices her surprise. “Even though there’s a second bed?” _

_ “Aoi applied to move to my room,” Risa responds, putting her bag with her volleyball equipment under her desk. “The Student Council hasn’t given her permission yet, but they will.” _

_ Yui’s eyebrow darts up a little. “Because they think she should move, or because you’ll force them to agree?” _

_ Risa shrugs, sitting down on the bed that seems to be hers. “You wanted to know what happened,” she changes the topic, gazing at the empty bed on the other side of the room longingly. _

_ “Yes, please.” _

_ “When I was in my first year, I was friends with a girl named Hirate Yurina. She was popular and loved by everyone, so much that she applied to become the Student Council President, and she would have won the election. Except someone suddenly started to bully her, and a few days before the actual election, she was pushed off the roof of the school and had to go to the hospital. She never returned to the school.” _

_ Yui is silent for a few moments, then she clears her throat. “And… Sugai-san is the one responsible for that…?” _

_ Risa nods, her expression dark. _

_ “Is there… proof of that?” _

_ Risa laughs bitterly. “There isn’t, but everyone knows it’s her. Her family owns the school, she couldn’t handle the thought of not being the President, and so…” She trails off, her hands clenching to fists. _

_ The story seems a little strange, something about it bothers Yui, but she decides not to question it for now, especially since she cannot quite pinpoint  _ what  _ it is that bothers her. So instead, she softly says, “Thank you for telling me, Risa-san.” _

_ The older girl nods briefly, her eyes fixated on the empty bed. Clearly, Aoi seems to be attempting to fill a hole in Risa’s heart that has possibly been there ever since Hirate Yurina left the school. _

_ “Was Hirate-san your roommate?” _

_ “What? No.” Risa shakes her head, smiling wryly. “My roommate was her best friend, Manaka. She left together with Techi, they needed each other at that time.” She sounds a little bitter, the tone in her voice implying that she misses Manaka. _

_ Yui’s chest tightens a little, her heart aching ever so slightly. She can’t tell if she feels sorry for Risa or for herself. “Ah… I see. I hope Aoi will be able to make you feel better once she moves in with you, then.” _

_ Risa glances over at the younger girl seriously, giving her a slow nod. “...yeah, I’m sure she will.” _

* * *

_ Yui would never admit it, but she actually finds herself developing a certain attraction to Risa. The older girl is beautiful, and now that Yui is starting to spend a lot of time with her, she starts to see the characteristics that make Risa special and unique. _

_ There is so much more to her than just the girl who hates the Student Council, even though Yui feels like she still doesn’t know the entire story about Hirate Yurina and Shida Manaka. _

_ Aoi officially moves to Risa’s room a few days after Yui’s first visit there, her application having finally been processed and approved by the Student Council. She is in no way popular enough to move up that far in the ranks of the school’s hierarchy, but Yui has seen Risa coming out of the Student Council office on the day before Aoi receives her approval; she assumes that Risa had a ‘conversation’ with Yuuka and Akane about Aoi. _

_ Yui helps Aoi move her belongings to Risa’s room on the exact same day that Aoi received her permission to move, and during that process, she finds that Risa looks oddly lost in her thoughts for the entire time that Yui spends with her that day. She seems to feel almost guilty about accepting a new roommate, but Yui decides not to ask her about it for the time being. _

_ A few days later, Yui is with Risa when the Student Council President calls her to the office via the school’s intercom, and Risa decides to accompany her there in order to protect Yui from whatever bad things Yuuka might ask from her. Yuuka seems a little uncomfortable when Risa follows Yui into the office, but she doesn’t complain; she has seen that the two of them have become friends, and she does her best to still be nice to Risa. _

_ Yuuka asks Yui - on behalf of the school’s headmaster - to perform in the school festival that is coming up in a few weeks. In accordance with the school’s principles of making the students focus exclusively on their studies, the school festival, as well as the sports festival, are not open to the public but only for the students themselves as well as their parents - and nobody else. _

_ “Oh, I would love to,” Yui says, not giving Risa the chance to react because she knows Risa will try to convince her not to perform. “I could practice a new song for the festival, that would be nice.” _

_ Visibly relieved, Yuuka smiles at her. “Thank you, Kobayashi-chan. By the way, we’ll send an invitation to your parents to tell them about the school festival. But sadly, they will be the only ones allowed to come; the school forbids us from inviting more than two guests per student.” _

_ Yui feels Risa tensing up next to her, and then the older girl speaks up, obviously challenging the Student Council President. “What if I want to invite someone who’s not part of my family? Someone who had to leave the school due to… unforeseen circumstances?” _

_ Yuuka’s jaw drops ever so slightly, rendering her speechless for a split second. _

_ Akane, who has been working at her own desk, now looks up and responds in the President’s stead. “You can’t, Watanabe. Former students who left before their graduation are not welcome in this school.” _

_ “Do the rules say that, or do you just hate everyone who had something to do with Techi?” _

_ “Risa!” Yui whispers in shock, trying to calm her friend down, but Akane already speaks up again before Yui can even say a full sentence. _

_ “Nobody ever hated anyone related to Yurina, but you never bothered to listen to us, so it’s just logical that you don’t understand.” _

_ “You think I don’t know the truth?” Risa spits her words out hatefully. “You think I don’t know that Sugai pushed her off the fucking roof, and that you are the one behind all the bullying, Moriya?!” _

_ Yuuka winces, visibly hurt by Risa’s words. _

_ Akane, on the other hand, scoffs and gets up from her chair, slowly walking over towards Risa. “This is exactly what I mean,” she hisses. “Just because Yuuka was there when Yurina fell, that doesn’t mean she was the one who pushed her!” _

_ “Oh, so you’re saying she just tripped and fell? As if I could believe that,” Risa laughs bitterly. “As if I could ever believe the ones who took away one of my closest friends and my girlfriend.” _

_ “Listen, Manaka was my friend too-” _

_ “And you knew she was going to stick with Techi-” _

_ “Risa! Akane!” When Yuuka raises her voice, it comes as a surprise to all of them. She has stood up, accidentally knocking her chair over in the process, and her hands are clenched to fists, crumpling some of the papers on her desk. “Calm down, both of you.” _

_ Surprise still written over their faces, both girls fall silent, although they are still glaring at each other. _

_ Yuuka takes a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment and only speaking when she opens them again. “Risa, I understand that you’re upset, but this is not about you. Please stop challenging the Student Council at every chance you get. We do what we believe is best for the students.” _

_ “And pushing Techi was-” _

_ “Risa,” Yuuka repeats, although her voice seems to have lost a little of its edge already. It seems to be taking her a lot of effort to stay calm, and Yui squeezes Risa’s hand tightly in an attempt to calm her down. “Risa, I regret many of the things that happened at that time. I tried to apologize to you, and you wouldn’t listen to me, and I understand that. But now that I am the President, I have other students to think of as well. So please at least give me a chance to try to right some of my wrongs. Akane…” she jerks her head towards the Vice President, and with a last glare in Risa’s direction, Akane walks over to Yuuka, pulling her into a hug. _

_ Yui awkwardly clears her throat and takes a step back towards the door. “Uh… thank you for letting me perform at the school festival,” she mutters quietly before rushing out of the room, pulling Risa with her. “What was that about?!” she hisses at her as soon as they’re outside and the door is closed. _

_ Risa huffs and starts to walk away, taking long steps down the hallway so that Yui has to hurry to catch up with her. “I wanted to ask her a question.” _

_ “No, you started a fight!” Yui has no problem with showing respect to her seniors, and she normally shows respect to Risa as well, but it frustrates her that there is clearly a second side to the ‘Hirate story’ that she doesn’t know about. “She just wanted to ask me to perform at the festival! There was no reason to let things escalate like that!” _

_ “You don’t understand, Yui.” _

_ Yui stops in her tracks, feeling like her chest is painfully contracting when she hears those words. “Yeah… you’re right. I don’t understand. I don’t understand what happened with Hirate-san because it feels like you only told me half of the story, and I don’t understand why you can’t forgive Sugai-san and Moriya-san. But maybe that’s because you don’t trust me enough to tell me everything, and to let me ask about their side of the story, don’t you think?” _

_ Risa does not answer and simply walks away, leaving Yui behind in painful silence. _

* * *

_ The school festival approaches and Yui spends every afternoon in the music room, practicing for her performance. Finally, however, she realizes that she has not properly talked to Risa ever since the incident in the Student Council office. She has returned there once to apologize for Risa’s behavior, but Yuuka only gave her a sad smile and said something along the lines of, “You don’t have to apologize, Kobayashi-chan. I understand why Risa is still upset, after all.” _

_ Hearing that sentence frustrated Yui once again because  _ she _ does not understand, but she does not ask Yuuka what actually happened. Deep down, she still likes Risa, so she still wants to try to fix things with her. _

_ That is why, a day before the festival, Yui heads to Aoi and Risa’s room. When she knocks at the door, Aoi opens it with a surprised expression on her face. _

_ “Yui? What is it?” _

_ “Uh, is Risa here?” _

_ Aoi shakes her head, pointing at the window from which they can see the gym. “She’s been drowning herself in volleyball practice ever since that day when Sugai-san called you to the Student Council office,” she explains, frowning. “What happened that day, anyways? I’ve tried to ask her, but she always refuses to tell me.” _

_ Yui smiles weakly. “Sugai-san asked me to perform during the school festival and I said yes. But Risa started a fight with Moriya-san about Hirate-san and… well, I yelled at her for starting a fight and she just walked away after that. We haven’t had a proper conversation since.” _

_ Her friend grimaces, shaking her head. “That’s not good, you should talk to her.” _

_ “That’s why I’m here. I’ll go and see if she’s still in the gym, then,” Yui decides, smiling weakly. She pats Aoi’s shoulder thankfully, promising to hang out with her soon, and then heads down the stairs and out of the school building. She rarely goes to the gym, except for when she has PE classes, so it feels a little odd to walk down the gravel path all by herself. _

_ Slowly, Yui opens the door and steps into the hallway. Inside, she hears someone seemingly running and throwing a ball against the wall, so she steps out of the hallway and into the gym itself, clearing her throat. “Risa?” _

_ Risa stops in her tracks, the ball bouncing off the floor and rolling away when she doesn’t catch it. “Yui…” _

_ Knowing that they’ll just end up staring at each other in silence if she doesn’t make the first step, Yui speaks up with a weak smile. “I came to apologize. I’m sorry for yelling at you after what happened with Moriya-san.” _

_ Risa’s eyebrows furrow slightly. “I thought you were just going to join them after that because that’s what you wanted to do originally.” _

_ “I… no, I didn’t even think about that. We’re friends after all, right?” Yui looks down at the floor, suddenly afraid of Risa’s answer. _

_ The older girl is silent for an almost uncomfortably long time. Then, she sighs, turning around and walking away to pick up the ball that rolled away. “I’m sorry too,” she says, her back facing Yui. “I dragged you into something that you shouldn’t have gotten involved in.” _

_ “So… you still don’t want to tell me everything?” _

_ “I already told you everything you need to know.” Even as she’s walking back towards Yui, Risa barely looks at her. _

_ Yui frowns slightly; she doesn’t want to fight again, but her next words leave her lips before she can stop herself. “When you and Moriya-san were fighting, you talked about your girlfriend. I didn’t know you had one.” _

_ Risa raises an eyebrow. “I didn’t think you needed to know about her.” _

_ A little bitter, Yui presses her lips together tightly. “Well, but now I know that she existed, so you might as well tell me who she is.” _

_ Again, it is silent in the gym, and Yui already thinks she made Risa too mad. But then, the other girl speaks up, her hands playing with the volleyball she is still holding. “It’s Manaka.” _

_ “Your roommate? That explains why you were behaving so weirdly when Aoi moved in with you…” Yui trails off when she notices Risa’s dark expression. “Okay, fine. Thank you for telling me, I won’t ask about her anymore.” _

_ “Yeah, you better don’t.” Finally, Risa turns away and heads over towards the storage room to put her ball away. “I’ll forgive you this once. If you bring up Techi or Manaka again, I can’t guarantee that I won’t get mad.” _

_ “I understand.” Yui sighs quietly. This is not how she had hoped for this conversation to go, but at least Risa is apparently willing to forgive her. “You know… I practiced a lot for the school festival. I want you to come listen to my performance,” she changes the topic, hoping that Risa will agree. _

_ The older girl comes back out of the storage room empty-handed and simply looks at Yui for a few moments. Then, the smallest of smiles spreads on her face. “Okay. I’ll come together with Aoi.” _

_ “You don’t have to force her, you know.” Yui chuckles a little, relieved. “If she doesn’t want to come…” _

_ “I don’t have to force her. She usually agrees when I ask her for something.” _

Yes, because she likes you.  _ Yui can stop herself just in time before the words actually leave her lips; Aoi would probably not appreciate Risa learning about her feelings this way. Instead, she lets out another soft sigh. “Okay. I’ll look forward to seeing you there, then.” _

_ The school festival takes place only a few days later, and Aoi, Yui and Risa walk through the school together when they’re not busy with their own classes, taking a look at what the other classes have prepared for the festival. Risa is quiet as always, but she walks behind Yui and Aoi as if she was watching over them. She even ends up buying a slice of cake for her roommate when Aoi suddenly whines that she forgot her money in their room. _

_ Yui’s heart aches ever so slightly when Risa doesn’t do the same for her. She knows about Manaka now, but maybe Risa is trying to open up her heart to someone else. _

_ To Aoi, not to Yui. _

_ But Yui has other things to worry about for the time being, so she forces herself to ignore the odd feeling that started to grow in her chest after Risa gave Aoi the slice of cake she bought for her. “I have to go and prepare for my performance,” Yui declares, smiling a little awkwardly. “I’m performing in the gym in fifteen minutes, so make sure you come and watch, okay?” _

_ Aoi cheerfully waves after her as she leaves, both her and Risa seemingly oblivious to Yui’s discomfort. _

_ In the gym, all the technical equipment has already been set up on the previous day, and Yui was there for a last rehearsal, so all she needs to do is pick up her guitar and her microphone stand. She quietly hums her song to herself for one last time, and then her fifteen minutes are over and she steps out onto the stage. _

_ Before she starts playing, Yui looks around the gym in an attempt to locate Risa and Aoi. She finds them near the entrance to the gym, excitedly talking to a girl who Yui thinks is Ozeki Rika, one of Risa’s classmates. _

_ Risa is not looking at her. _

_ Yui shakes her head and closes her eyes for a second in an attempt to focus on her performance. This is not the time to be jealous. She has to deliver a good performance, to show that she is worthy of the music scholarship that she received. _

_ And the performance does go well, judging by the booming applause that she receives. For a moment, Yui closes her eyes and relishes the feeling of having made these people happy all by herself, of having proved that she is good at what she does. It was fun to forget about everything else and just focus on the music for these few minutes. _

_ But then, she opens her eyes again, and her eyes find Risa in the crowd. Next to the older girl, Aoi is cheerfully waving at her, visibly clapping her hands as if to make sure that Yui sees that she enjoyed the performance. Yui’s eyes, however, are fixated on Risa. _

_ On Risa’s lips is a soft smile; she is not looking straight into Yui’s eyes, presumably because she doesn’t notice that Yui is looking at her, but she is clapping her hands as well and then gives her friend on the stage a thumbs-up. _

_ It is then that Yui admits to herself that she does like Risa a lot. And at the same time, she also decides to keep her feelings a secret because clearly, Risa likes Aoi more than her. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Here](https://twitter.com/_satoshioris/status/1332986121731575808) is a thread on Twitter where I talk about my thoughts about this AU and where I'll post updates!
> 
> The warnings in the tags don't apply to all chapters; when they apply, it will be mentioned in an author's note.


	3. 02

A few days have passed since the entrance ceremony and the new first-years are slowly growing accustomed to each other and to their classes.

Hono joins the volleyball club and, every day after practice, she comes into her and Hikaru’s room with a new story about how Risa yelled at one of the club members for talking to someone from the Student Council. “She must really, _really_ hate them,” she muses sometimes, her brows knit together in a frown.

But for the time being, everything is still too new and overwhelming for them to focus on this problem that isn’t even their own.

Both Hikaru and Hono soon find themselves in a group of girls from their class, led by Matsuda Rina from the room next to theirs, that sits together at a large circular table during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Besides the three of them, the other members are Matsuda’s roommates Inoue and Takemoto, as well as Yamasaki Ten and Seki Yumiko whose room is a few doors down the hallway.

There are also the roommates Fujiyoshi Karin and Matsudaira Riko who occasionally sit with them due to the lack of a table they like more. Both of them are in the same class as the others, but Karin always sits at the back of the classroom and makes it very hard for people to approach her. It is only thanks to Matsuda’s intense cheering - _“Why don’t you two sit with us? Yes, of course it’s okay! Don’t worry about it, just come over here!”_ \- that she agreed to sit with the group at all.

One day just as the lunch break starts, the Student Council President walks past their table and gives them a soft “hello.” All of them, with the exception of Hono, return the greeting, causing Yuuka to smile a little as she heads over to her own table.

Once Yuuka has left them behind, Matsuda elbows Hono with a shocked expression. “Hono-chan! Why didn’t you greet her?”

Hono sighs in slight discomfort, averting her eyes. “I’m not allowed to talk to members of the Student Council, especially not Sugai-senpai. I think Risa-san has kicked people out of the club for that before.”

The other girls’ eyes go even wider; apparently, Hikaru is the only one who knew about this before. “What?” Seki asks, the surprise clearly audible even though her voice is still soft and gentle. “Is she even allowed to do that?”

Hikaru shrugs in response, her fingers tapping a rhythm onto the tabletop. “Nobody seems to be stopping her, at least.”

“But why? There’s nothing wrong with the Student Council.” Inoue and Takemoto look at each other, nodding in confused agreement.

“She really hates them,” Hono explains, making sure to emphasize the _really_. “Well, nobody’s ever told us why she does, though. Apparently Sugai-san and Moriya-san have hurt one of the students here by accident…? That’s all we know, right, Hii-chan?”

Hikaru confirms that with a nod, glancing over at Yuuka, who has sat down next to Akane and is quietly talking to her now. The President seems happy now, clearly relaxed when she is with her Vice President, and it seems like there is something much deeper than friendship between them. A mutual understanding about something that nobody else knows about.

“Hikaru-chan?” Matsuda’s voice returns Hikaru’s mind to her friends, and she tilts her head slightly, silently telling the older girl to say what she wants to say. “What were you looking at?”

“I was just thinking… Sugai-san seems really comfortable when she’s with Moriya-san,” Hikaru muses. “I mean, obviously they’re really close friends, but maybe there’s more to their relationship.”

“Are you saying they’re dating?” Takemoto suggests, grinning when Inoue chuckles next to her.

“No! I mean, I don’t know, they could be. But what I _actually_ meant is, they clearly know something we don’t.” And Hikaru has no idea how correct that assumption is.

* * *

Yuuka and Akane are sitting at a table that is just large enough for all their friends. There aren’t _that_ many of those because the ‘Hirate incident’ caused a cleft in the group of students in their year, with many of them siding with Risa because they have no idea what actually happened.

The few ones who know the truth about the incident - Yuuka’s childhood friends Habu Mizuho and the always so kind and concerned Fuyuka - have brought Koike Minami, who is now in her second year, into the group, forming a small but tight-knit group of friends that stands at the core of the Student Council.

“Hey,” Fuyuka greets the two of them as she sits down on her usual chair on Akane’s left side. 

“Fuu-chan,” Yuuka smiles at her, looking around for their other two friends. “Where are Habu-chan and Mii-chan?”

Fuyuka grimaces as she responds, laughing. “They’re making out in a hallway somewhere near the library. I didn’t have the heart to interrupt them, they haven’t had much time to themselves lately.”

Akane laughs as well, looking over at Yuuka with a wide smile. “I know someone else who would love to make out with her girlfriend right now-”

“We are not making out here in front of everyone, Akane,” Yuuka hisses, lowering her voice so the other students can’t hear her. She loves Akane, but her parents cannot find out in any way that she is dating her Vice President.

“I know, I know. I was just joking.” Still grinning, Akane pats her girlfriend’s shoulder and shakes her head. “I’m gonna get some food, are you coming? I’m hungry.”

Yuuka and Fuyuka follow her to the serving counter, smiling thankfully at the cook when they receive their plates. “So, you were talking to some of the first-years when you came to our table?” Akane asks, bringing up the fact that she saw Yuuka stopping by the first-years’ table earlier. “That… Matsuda Rina and her friends?”

“Ah, yes. I just thought it would be good to say hello to them since most of them haven’t… well, chosen their side yet, as Risa would say.” She grimaces slightly, not liking that way of phrasing it. “Tamura-chan did join the volleyball club, though, so she didn’t greet me, but that’s what I expected.”

Akane rolls her eyes. “I told you, someone needs to stop Risa already, she’s even setting the other students against you…”

“It’s okay, Akanen. We only have less than a year left until our graduation.”

“And what if Risa ruins our graduation?”

Yuuka is silent for a while, pushing her food around on her plate. “...I don’t know,” she finally admits, sighing. “But it’s her graduation too, I’m sure she won’t do anything too bad.”

Akane clicks her tongue and sighs heavily. “You trust her a lot, considering that she’s trying so hard to hurt you.”

“She was our friend too, Akane.” Yuuka gently puts her hand over her girlfriend’s, looking straight into her eyes.

“Then why won’t you tell her the truth about what happened to Techi?” Fuyuka speaks up, her eyebrows furrowed slightly. “She might… well, maybe not forgive you, but at least hate you a little less if she knew.”

Yuuka’s expression becomes sad again. “She won’t listen to me,” she mutters, staring down at her food now. “She wouldn’t want to hear it from any of us.”

An idea seems to strike Fuyuka. “What about Manaka? She left with Techi, she must know-”

“I’m sure she does, but we’re not calling her,” Akane cuts in sharply. “We don’t even know her phone number or anything, and no, we’re not sending any of Yuuka’s servants to find her. They have their own lives now, it wouldn’t be good if they came back here. And now let’s eat, the food is getting cold.”

Yuuka frowns in slight discomfort, but nods and starts to eat slowly. She normally eats a lot, but this kind of conversation has taken away some of her appetite. In fact, she does occasionally think about finding a way to meet Manaka and Yurina, but both her and Akane have come to the agreement that contacting them is too high of a risk as there is no guarantee that it will actually help anyone.

As she is eating, Habu and her girlfriend Minami join them and Yuuka’s thoughts drift away from Yurina and back to something Fuyuka said just a few minutes ago - that Minami and Habu were making out somewhere near the library. Habu is her best friend, and yet, a certain jealousy makes itself felt in the pit of her stomach. 

Habu, too, comes from a rich family - Yuuka would never have come into contact with her otherwise - but her parents are far more relaxed than Yuuka’s own. In middle school, it has happened quite a few times that Habu invited Yuuka to hang out with her and Yuuka had to decline because her mother was planning to watch over her studies.

Another aspect that sometimes bothers Yuuka, although she has never told Habu about it, is the fact that Habu can be so open about her relationship with Minami. The two of them often walk through the school holding hands or even occasionally kiss in front of other students, whereas Yuuka herself doesn’t even dare to think about holding hands with Akane when the other students can see them.

The big difference, again, lies in the mindset of their parents; Habu’s parents are rather open to the thought of their daughter being more attracted to girls than to boys. Habu once told Yuuka that her parents are rather supportive of her and Minami’s relationship. Yuuka, on the other hand, is sure her parents have already chosen a suitable, _male_ fiancé for her who she will be introduced to once she graduates. This means that there is no way she can let them find out about her real relationship with Akane if she doesn’t want them to-

“Yuuka, is everything okay?”

Yuuka winces and snaps out of her thoughts, her head jerking up to look at her girlfriend and Fuyuka. “Y-yes, everything is perfect.”

Akane raises an eyebrow and uses her fork to gesture at Yuuka’s plate. “You stopped eating and started staring at your food like it did something to hurt you.”

A blush creeps up Yuuka’s cheeks and she shakes her head. “It didn’t hurt me.”

Her girlfriend laughs and elbows her, “I know, I would’ve seen it if it had. So what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Yuuka repeats, her eyes darting over towards Habu and Minami for a split second. Her friends are eating happily, though Minami looks up from her plate and gives her a questioning glance. “Everything is fine.”

Akane’s eyes follow hers, and the way she purses her lips almost looks like she wants to lean in and kiss Yuuka. She restrains herself, however, and smiles wryly. “Okay, that’s great then.”

* * *

\- almost 1 year earlier -

_Yuuka first meets Koike Minami a little more than a week after the beginning of the school year, when Habu brings a girl with a black eye into the Student Council office. That girl is Minami herself, though Yuuka does not know that yet. “Oh no, what happened?” Yuuka asks worriedly, putting her papers aside and coming over to the girls who are still standing near the door._

_Habu glances at the shorter girl briefly before answering. “Risa pushed her out of the way and she hit her head against a doorframe, I think Risa was kind of mad.”_

_Akane, who is reading some papers at her desk, frowns but doesn’t say anything, just looking up and watching the scene in front of her._

_“I’m sorry that happened to you,” Yuuka apologizes with a sigh, causing the girl to smile weakly._

_“It’s not your fault, Sugai-san.”_

_“You are… one of the new first-years?” Yuuka asks as she’s taking the first-aid kit out of the cupboard near the door. “Please tell me your name, I haven’t been able to memorize everyone’s names yet.”_

_The girl’s eyes widen. “You memorize everyone’s names?”_

_“Well, I try. As the President, I should know who’s who, right?” Yuuka smiles a little awkwardly._

_“Ah… well, I’m Koike Minami, but everyone calls me Mii-chan.” The other students don’t do that quite yet, since only a few weeks have passed since the beginning of the school year, but Minami wants them to._

_Yuuka’s smile becomes softer and less forced and she nods as she takes a cooling pack out of the first-aid kit and gently holds it against Minami’s bruise. “Habu-chan said you hit your head? If you need it, we can take you to the infirmary.”_

_Minami shakes her head, lifting her hand to hold the cooling pack by herself. “Thank you, Sugai-san. I don’t think I need to go to the infirmary for now.”_

_“Alright. Just tell us if you need anything else, okay? You can stay here for a bit if you want,” Yuuka offers, slowly retreating towards her desk. Before she can sit down, however, a movement of Akane’s hand catches her eye, so Yuuka walks over towards her instead._

_“Habu said Risa hurt her,” Akane mumbles into Yuuka’s ear, audibly annoyed. “We need to do something about her.”_

_“I know, Akane. But there isn’t much we can do since she won’t listen to us.” Yuuka lets out a sigh. “Koike-san was lucky Habu-chan was nearby, I suppose.”_

_“Do you think Risa will hurt her again?”_

_“It didn’t sound like she did it on purpose…”_

_When Yuuka trails off, Akane looks up at Habu. “Habu-chan, did Risa hurt her on purpose?”_

_Habu pauses for a moment, but then shakes her head. “I don’t think so. She already looked mad when she came out of the classroom… maybe she had a fight with someone else or something.”_

_Akane and Yuuka exchange a quick glance; they know about Kobayashi Yui, another first-year student who seems to stand by Risa’s side for now, but who they have seen approaching the Student Council office a couple of times already. “Okay. In that case, it doesn’t seem like she’s in any actual danger, but you should keep an eye on Koike-san,” Akane concludes, a hint of amusement in her eyes despite the serious conversation._

_Indeed, a slight blush creeps onto Minami’s cheeks and she averts her eyes when Habu looks at her._

_“You mean I should protect her?” Habu tilts her head to the side, seemingly not noticing the way the blush on Minami’s cheeks intensifies at her words. “Alright then, I’ll do it.”_

_Yuuka watches the conversation unfold, an expression of mild confusion on her face. “Akane…?”_

_“Minami likes her, can’t you see that?” Akane whispers to her, jerking her head towards the younger girl whose blush has not completely subsided yet._

_“Ah…” Slowly, Yuuka understands what her girlfriend means. “Well, I’m glad you can at least find some enjoyment in this situation.”_

_Akane chuckles softly. “Don’t worry, everything will be fine, Yuuka.”_

_Yuuka can only hope that she is right._

_Habu stays close to Minami from then on, as much as she can with them being in different years. In theory, this is unnecessary because Risa never approaches Minami again, but Habu enjoys her ‘task’ and Minami enjoys being close to her - that much is obvious to anyone who sees them in the hallway._

_Approximately a week and a half passes before Habu suggests for Minami to join the Student Council, and the younger girl happily accepts the offer, if only for the reason that it will allow her to spend more time with Habu without being looked at in a strange way by the other students. Yuuka is alone in the Student Council office when Minami comes to bring her registration paper over._

_“You want to join us?” Yuuka looks genuinely surprised at that. Minami has been spending some time in the Student Council office lately, but Yuuka never expected her to want to join them._

_Minami nods shyly. “Yes. Habu-chan suggested it, and it sounded like a good idea.”_

Of course _, Yuuka thinks to herself. If she or Akane had made this suggestion, Minami most likely wouldn’t have liked it so much. “Okay. That’s fine then… as long as you know that not all students in this school like the Student Council.”_

_“It’s always like that, isn’t it?” Minami asks, tilting her head to the side. “There’s always people who don’t support everything you do.”_

_“Well… yes, but it’s more extreme in this school.” Yuuka lets out a sigh. “If you really want to join us, I won’t stop you, and Akane and I will tell you why things are a little different here.”_

_The younger girl nods seriously, putting her registration paper down on Yuuka’s desk. “I do want to join,” she says decisively; apparently, she does not plan on letting anything deter her from this decision._

_Yuuka accepts the paper and puts it aside so she can put it into one of the folders that sit on the shelf behind her desk later. “Good. I’m happy to hear that. Akane and Habu-chan are busy right now, but all of us can meet here tomorrow so that we can talk about… everything.”_

_In the next afternoon, Yuuka, Akane, Habu and Minami sit in the office together for their long, serious conversation. Saito Fuyuka, who is also one of Yuuka’s very close friends, is with them too, prepared to take over the conversation in case Yuuka and Akane find themselves unable to talk for whatever reason._

_Minami listens seriously, occasionally throwing in a question. When Yuuka finishes talking, silence hangs in the room for a few moments before the youngest girl speaks up. “So in the end, it all boils down to, ‘Risa-san hates you.’”_

_“Well… yes.” Yuuka smiles awkwardly. “I understand why she does, too. We hurt Yurina-chan, and Risa cannot forgive us. I wouldn’t be able to forgive her if she hurt one of my closest friends, either.”_

_“Well, that’s an honor, but it wasn’t your fault,” Fuyuka sighs, patting Yuuka’s back. “But you’ve always had trouble accepting that, so we’re not going to delve into that conversation today.”_

_Their conversations about the Hirate incident usually end like this, so the four of them are used to the awkward atmosphere that hangs in the room for a moment._

_“...anyways, we’re happy to have you here, Mii-chan,” Habu clears her throat, breaking the silence with a smile on her face. “If you want, I can help you get used to your duties as a Student Council member.”_

_Thus, Yuuka gets to watch how the two of them grow even closer together. It makes her happy to see them enjoying themselves, but at the same time, it fills her with an odd, inexplicable jealousy._

_After a few weeks, Habu and Minami come into the Student Council office holding hands. “Yukka,” Habu starts, a wide smile on her lips as she uses the nickname she has called Yuuka for years. “Guess what happened today?”_

_Yuuka’s eyes dart down to her friends’ hands, noticing the way their fingers are intertwined. When she was just friends with Akane, at the beginning of their first year in the school, she did not hold hands with her. However, she forces herself to ignore the odd feeling that bubbles up in her heart and puts on a smile instead. “What happened, Habu-chan?”_

_“I asked Mii-chan out!” Habu has been talking about this to Yuuka for a few days, apparently oblivious to the way her friend always seems a little sad whenever she talks about how much she likes Minami. “And she said yes, so we’re dating now!”_

_Next to her, Minami nods enthusiastically, a happy smile on her lips._

_“That’s… nice, I’m happy for you,” Yuuka forces herself to keep the smile on her lips. “Congrats.”_

_“Thanks, Yukka!” Habu pulls Minami over towards the desk that the two of them often sit at together to do their work, not noticing how Yuuka’s expression becomes sad, the smile falling from her lips as soon as her friends turn around._

_That evening, Akane comes to Yuuka’s room to sleep there like she has done almost every night since Hirate Yurina left the school. Yuuka’s room is a single room, and Akane has her own room that is just the same size, but the bed is big enough for two people, and ever since Risa first yelled ‘all of this is your fault!’ at Yuuka, the Student Council President prefers not to sleep by herself._

_“What’s wrong?” Akane asks her once the two of them are in Yuuka’s room together, taking off their school uniforms and putting on their pajamas. “You look unhappy.”_

_“What do you mean? Everything is fine,” Yuuka responds in mild surprise, not immediately realizing what her girlfriend is referring to._

_Akane pulls her shirt over her head and furrows her eyebrows. “You kept staring at Habu-chan and Minami when they were working together in the office.”_

_“Oh…” Yuuka seems to deflate slightly at the thought of that. “So that’s what you mean.”_

_“So something is wrong. What is it? Are you worried about them?”_

_“No, it’s just… they’re so close, and they don’t have to hide it. Habu-chan confessed to Mii-chan today, so they’re dating now, and they won’t have to hide their relationship.”_

_Akane lets out a heavy sigh. Ignoring the fact that both her and Yuuka are just wearing their bras in addition to their pajama bottoms, she walks over to the other girl and wraps her arms around Yuuka’s waist from behind, pulling her girlfriend against her._

_Yuuka shivers slightly when she feels Akane’s warm skin against her own, her back suddenly pressed tightly against the slightly shorter girl’s front. “Akanen…?”_

_“It’ll be okay, Yuuka.” Akane presses a gentle kiss to Yuuka’s nape. “Don’t worry about it so much.”_

_“But we won’t ever be able to be like that… we can only be together here, like this…”_

_“And so what?” Akane lets go of her girlfriend, only to spin Yuuka around and lift her chin up, gently urging the other girl to look at her. “I don’t care if we have to hide. As long as we’re together…”_

_“I know, but as long as things are like this, my parents are going to make me marry someone else,” Yuuka whispers in frustration, finding herself unable to speak any louder if she wants to remain calm. “I don’t want to marry anyone else.”_

_“Then I’ll be the knight in shining armor who comes to save this princess from her cruel parents.” Akane smiles softly, and against her will, a small chuckle escapes Yuuka’s lips._

_“Thank you, Akanen.” Yuuka leans in and presses her lips against Akane’s briefly. “Thank you.”_

* * *

Fujiyoshi Karin is walking through the hallways, trying to find an empty room she can hide in. She is slowly getting used to how clingy her roommate, Matsudaira Riko, is, but sometimes, Riko’s behavior is still a bit much for the younger girl who usually tries to avoid human interactions whenever she can.

Her steps quiet and fast on the carpeted floor of the hallway - this is an elite school after all - she scurries away from the restrooms where she left Riko behind. The club rooms are ahead of her, and she knows most of them are likely locked right now, but Karin still hopes to find an unlocked, empty classroom or even a storage room in a quiet corner of the building.

“You want to do what?” She suddenly hears a voice from a half-opened door nearby, and Karin stops in her tracks. She doesn’t eavesdrop on people, normally, but something about the urgency in this girl’s voice makes her step a little closer to the door.

“I’m going to talk to Moriya-san and Sugai-san. I want to hear what they have to say about… all this.”

“Oh Yui, Risa is gonna kill you for that.” The mention of the name ‘Risa,’ the girl who Karin knows is the captain of the volleyball club that her classmate Hono joined, causes her to stay where she is. “She always says she told us everything we need to know.”

“Yes, but it doesn’t seem like that’s _everything_. Sugai-san… she doesn’t seem like she’d willingly hurt any of the other students, Aoi.”

The girl named Aoi sighs, and Karin hears someone’s foot tapping against the floor. “Maybe she learned her lesson from hurting Hirate-san.”

“Or maybe she didn’t hurt Hirate-san at all. That’s possible, don’t you think?”

“If Risa finds out… oh, and she’s gonna kill me too, for not stopping you…” Aoi lets out a groan. “Don’t do it, Yui. If you like her even the slightest bit, don’t do it.”

For a few moments, it is completely silent, and Karin slowly takes a step back from the door, planning to leave. But then, she suddenly hears Yui’s voice again. “I’m doing it because I want to help Risa. If she graduates with nothing but negative memories of this school…”

“Then let us be the ones to create positive memories with her.” Aoi’s voice almost sounds pleading now. “She’s finally opening up to us, isn’t she? What happened to Hirate-san is the past.”

Yui lets out a heavy sigh. “Not for Risa.”

“But if we distract her enough, she can focus on us instead of her, don’t you understand? She likes us…”

“She likes _you_ , yes.” Yui’s voice suddenly becomes tight and tense. “I have to go. I guess you’ll hear from the other students if I’ve talked to the Student Council.”

Quick steps approach the door and Karin dashes away from it, feeling thankful for the soft carpet under her feet that silences her steps. She slows her steps so it will look like she was just walking past the room, staring straight ahead in an attempt to hide the fact that she just listened in on a conversation she was not supposed to hear.

A girl catches up with her and rushes past her, only sparing the first-year student a quick glance and not appearing to notice that Karin overheard her conversation. This must be Yui, Karin thinks, and makes a mental note that the necktie of the girl’s school uniform is a darker grey, indicating that she is in her second year. (Karin’s own necktie, like that of all the other first-years, is a much lighter grey, so light that it is almost white.)

Yui rushes down the hallway and disappears around a corner, leaving Karin alone in the hallway. Aoi hasn’t come out of the room yet, and Karin decides not to stick around waiting for her to come out since she would be giving herself away with that. So instead, she resumes her search for an empty room, feeling like that is exactly what she needs to let her mind process the things she just heard.

Matsuda comes into Karin’s empty classroom about half an hour later, letting out a sigh of relief when she finds her classmate leaning against the window. “Karin-chan! What are you doing here? Riko told us you were gone, so we all looked for you…”

“I… needed some time to be alone and think. Sorry.” That’s not even a lie anymore. Karin’s apology sounds half-hearted, but Matsuda accepts it with a smile.

“You should apologize to Rikopi, not to me. But she really likes you, so I’m sure she won’t be mad.” Matsuda pats her classmate’s shoulder and starts to guide her towards the door. “Come, we should meet the others in your room so they know they can stop looking for you. Is something wrong?”

“What? Oh, no.” Karin shakes her head quickly, not willing to reveal her newfound knowledge just yet. She needs to think about it a little longer, especially because she assumes Hono as a member of the volleyball club might get into trouble if Risa finds out that their group knows that there was an incident involving her.

Matsuda doesn’t look entirely convinced, but she doesn’t push Karin any further for the time being. She leads the way back up to Karin and Riko’s room and knocks at the door, which is opened by Riko just a few moments later.

“Karin!” Riko exclaims and steps forward, pulling her roommate into a tight hug. “Where did you go?! I was so shocked when I came out of the restroom and you weren’t there!”

Karin groans when all the air is pressed out of her lungs. Finally, Riko lets go of her and she takes a step back, taking a deep breath. “I just needed a few minutes to myself. I was looking for an empty classroom so I could be alone for a bit.”

Riko’s expression turns into one of genuine confusion. “Why would you want to be alone when we can spend time together?”

“...nevermind, forget about it.” Sighing, Karin enters the room and plops down on her bed. This is exactly why she wanted to be alone; Riko means well, but she seems to like her roommate so much that she becomes extremely clingy at times.

Matsuda grins in satisfaction as she sees the two of them together. Their other friends, with the exception of Hikaru and Hono who are busy with their respective clubs, are slowly coming back to the room as well and sigh in relief when they see Karin on her bed. “You found her?” Takemoto asks as she steps closer to Matsuda, followed by Inoue.

“Yeah, she was in an empty classroom on the ground floor. She said she just wanted to be alone for a bit, but something is off, isn’t it?” Matsuda has always kept a very close eyes on her friends, which is why she quickly became the leader of their group of friends; she is just that good at taking care of the people she cares for.

“Maybe,” Inoue agrees hesitantly. If anything, Karin’s expression appears to be a little more thoughtful than usual, so she’s surprised Matsuda picked up on that at all. “And she didn’t tell you what’s wrong?”

“No, you know how she is. I guess we just have to give her a little more time.” She receives a nod of agreement from Takemoto and Inoue.

Slowly, the other girls start to leave the room one after another, finding that now that Karin is back, they are just awkwardly standing around in a room that was not built to fit seven people. Ten slips out of the room first, followed by Yumiko who says she wants to go to the school’s library, and Takemoto starts grinning suspiciously when Inoue whispers something into her ear.

“Okay, who are you two going to prank now?” Matsuda asks with a small sigh, having already learned that it never means anything good when her roommates smile at each other like that.

“That’s a surprise,” Takemoto declares, already turning towards the door. “One that needs some more planning, too.”

“Just don’t hurt anyone, okay?” Matsuda calls after them as they leave, knowing that there’s no point in trying to stop them once they have their mind set on something. And as long as nobody gets hurt or seriously offended, she has found herself enjoying the pranks they have played on others until now. She then turns back towards Karin, who is currently trying to keep Riko from leaning onto her shoulder. “Karin-chan, you know you can tell me if anything is wrong, right?”

Karin looks oddly guilty upon hearing that, but she gives her classmate a quick nod. “Yeah, I will.” In fact, Matsuda might be her best bet at having a serious conversation about Risa with someone.

“Good. I’ll leave too, then.” Matsuda waves at her classmates cheerfully and leaves the room, pulling the door closed and leaving Karin and Riko behind alone.

* * *

The first time Karin mentions the conversation she overheard to someone else ends up not being in a conversation with Matsuda. She finds herself in the library with Riko, Hono and Hikaru one Saturday morning, working on a small group project that the four of them have been told to do together.

Hono lets out a long sigh as she stares down at the notes in front of her, and Hikaru suddenly looks up, speaking up as if she just realized something. “By the way, Hono, how’s it going with the Student Council?”

“What do you mean, ‘how’s it going?’ I’m not talking to them, obviously.” Hono’s eyebrows furrow slightly. “It does feel a little weird to ignore them like that, if that’s what you mean. But I don’t have a choice, if I want to stay in the volleyball club.”

Riko lifts her head, suddenly seeming curious. “What does ‘you don’t have a choice’ mean?”

“In all these weeks, did you seriously not realize that Risa-senpai hates the Student Council?” Hikaru asks, a little shocked as to how Riko could miss something so obvious. “Hono can’t talk to anyone from the Student Council because Risa-senpai might kick her out of the club for it.”

Riko looks like she might already be losing interest in the topic by the time Hikaru finishes speaking; this happens every now and then, and all of them have already grown used to it.

Realizing that this is her chance to bring this up, Karin leans a little closer to Hikaru and Hono. “About Watanabe-senpai… I may have accidentally overheard someone talking about her.”

Hikaru perks up at that, much to Karin’s surprise, showing some genuine interest in what her friend has to say. “What did they say?”

“Hmm… apparently one of her friends is questioning why she hates the Student Council so much.” Karin finds herself a little surprised at how eagerly Hikaru seems to listen to her. “Yui-san and Aoi-san were their names, I think. Aoi-san said Risa-senpai would kill both of them if she finds out that Yui-san talked to the Student Council.”

Hono and Hikaru exchange a quick glance, with the former letting out a heavy sigh. “Not you, too…”

“Moriya-senpai told us a little about that,” Hikaru explains, fingers tapping against the table as she speaks with a certain curiosity or even excitement in her voice. “She said that someone was hurt by the Student Council a while ago, and that that incident has something to do with Risa-senpai hating them now. Hono said it wasn’t our place to question that, but…”

Hono is right, Karin thinks to herself. They should not question this. Who knows how deep this cleft in the group of older students actually goes, and who knows what will happen if they get themselves involved in something that was none of their business. And yet, she also sees why Hikaru seems so intrigued.

“So, Yui-san was her name, you said?” Hikaru continues, jotting the name down on a corner of her notepad. “I’m gonna see if I can find her and talk to her.”

“Are you serious? She must be our senpai, and we don’t even know her…” Hono rubs her forehead in slight frustration, but her expression doesn’t seem that serious.

Hikaru nods enthusiastically. “You like Risa-senpai, don’t you? Don’t you want to help her resolve her problems before she graduates?”

“Hngh~” Her best friend whines and then lets out a heavy sigh. “I… I do. Just don’t make her too mad with your investigations.”

A triumphant grin on her lips, Hikaru gives another nod. “Of course. Don’t worry, you won’t be kicked out of the volleyball club. And you’re with us too, right, Karin?”

Karin hesitates for a moment, but then she nods slowly. “Yeah, I am.”

Next to her, Riko looks up from her phone, apparently having missed their entire conversation. “What were you guys talking about?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Karin sighs softly before trying to focus on her part of the group project again. She does not have the patience to repeat their entire conversation to Riko right now. Despite that, her mind is suddenly occupied by thoughts about Yui and Risa again, leaving her wondering what kind of result their investigation is going to bring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Here](https://twitter.com/_satoshioris/status/1332986121731575808) is a thread on Twitter where I talk about my thoughts about this AU and where I'll post updates!
> 
> The warnings in the tags don't apply to all chapters; when they apply, it will be mentioned in an author's note.


	4. Koike Minami

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a special chapter focused on Koike Minami since it's her birthday today.

\- 1 year earlier -

_"Why the hell are you even thinking about that?!” The door to the room flies open and a girl storms outside, pushing Minami out of the way and against the doorframe on the opposing wall. Minami whines in pain when her temple hits the wood, her hand coming up to hesitantly touch the painful area. The girl, who she does not recognize off the top of her head, simply rushes past her without a single word - without even bothering to look at her._

_“Are you okay?” a gentle voice speaks up next to her and Minami turns around, finding herself staring at the lips of a girl who seems to be much taller than her._

_Slowly, Minami’s eyes wander up to meet the stranger’s eyes and a slight blush spreads on her cheeks when she realizes how handsome the taller girl looks with her very short hair and her model-like face. “I… I’m fine,” she mutters softly, for a moment taken aback by her senpai’s beauty._

_The girl reaches out and brushes Minami’s hair behind her ear in order to check on her temple. “That looks painful though, I think it’s already bruising. Come with me, okay? I can get you a cooling pack.”_

_Shyly, Minami nods and follows the girl. As they head down the stairs, away from the rooms that the students live in, she eventually speaks up, “Uh, can I ask what your name is?”_

_“Ah!” the other girl exclaims, a sheepish grin spreading on her lips. “I’m Habu Mizuho. And you are…?”_

_“Koike Minami.” After a brief pause, a realization hits her. “Habu-san… you’re in the Student Council, right?”_

_Habu smiles a little awkwardly and nods. “Right. Does that mean you hate me now? I’m not going to force you to come with me, you know.”_

_Minami raises an eyebrow, wincing slightly when that causes her fresh bruise to ache a little more. “Why would I hate you just because of that? There’s no problem with you being in the Student Council.”_

_“Well… yes, that’s right. But there are a lot of students who hate us with a passion, and the first-year students likely will end up picking either our side, or theirs.”_

_As Minami looks up at the older girl, she silently thinks to herself that she would probably choose Habu’s side no matter what. “I… didn’t know about that. I haven’t chosen anyone’s side,” she says instead. “So, thank you for helping me out.”_

_They arrive in front of the Student Council office and Habu knocks at the door, but doesn’t wait for a response as she enters the room._

_For the first time in her life, Minami finds herself in a room of this kind, and she looks around curiously. One single desk stands in front of the window, on top of it a sign that says_ Student Council President _. The girl sitting at that desk looks up, her eyes widening slightly when Habu leads Minami into the office. “Habu-chan? What’s wrong?”_

_“She needs to borrow a cooling pack,” Habu responds, smiling a little sadly._

_“Oh no, what happened?” The President gets up from her chair and walks towards Habu and Minami._

_Habu exchanges a quick glance with Minami. “Risa pushed her out of the way and she hit her head against a doorframe. I think Risa was kind of mad.”_

‘Kind of’ _seems like a bit of an understatement, but Minami is not going to question the taller girl’s phrasing. Instead, she gives a shy smile in the direction of the other girl in the room, who is sitting at a desk that is labelled_ Student Council Vice President _._

_“I’m sorry that happened to you,” the President sighs softly, seeming visibly troubled by those news._

_Minami tears her eyes away from the intense frown on the Vice President’s face and gives the President a weak smile instead. “It’s not your fault, Sugai-san,” she says, remembering the President’s name from when she introduced herself at the first-year students’ entrance ceremony._

_Sugai Yuuka smiles weakly and heads over to a cupboard near the door to take out a first-aid kit. “You are… one of the new first-years? Please tell me your name, I haven’t been able to memorize everyone’s names yet.”_

_Hearing that surprises Minami a little; memorizing every single first-year student’s name is an effort that she has not seen other Student Council Presidents make. “You memorize everyone’s names?”_

_“Well, I try. As the President, I should know who’s who, right?” Yuuka gives her a slightly awkward smile, setting the first-aid kit down on her desk._

_Following her in that direction, Minami replies, “Ah… well, I’m Koike Minami, but everyone calls me Mii-chan.” The other students don’t quite do that yet because only a few weeks have passed since the beginning of the school year, but her family has been calling her_ Mii-chan _for so long that she barely reacts to anything else._

_The President seems to relax a little, her smile softening visibly. She finds a cooling pack in the first-aid-kit and offers it to Minami, concern audibly in her voice now as she asks, “Habu-chan said you hit your head? If you need it, we can take you to the infirmary.”_

_“Thank you, Sugai-san. I don’t think I need to go to the infirmary for now.” Minami accepts the cooling pack with a thankful smile and presses it against the bruise forming on her temple, wincing slightly when the cold material touches her skin. Then, a sigh leaves her lips when the pain slowly starts to subside._

_“_ _Alright. Just tell us if you need anything else, okay? You can stay here for a bit if you want.” Yuuka puts the first-aid kit back into the cupboard she took it from and walks over to her Vice President’s desk, leaning down to hear what the other girl has to say to her._

_The two of them whisper to each other for a while, and since Minami is unable to hear what they are saying, she busies herself by looking around in the office. The walls are painted in a pure white; the white that is everywhere in this school, even in the students’ uniforms. Before her enrollment, when she received her letter of acceptance to the school, Minami read that the white represents the purity that they want their students to retain, as well as the school’s own pristine reputation. The only small burst of color is the pale pink carpeting on the floor that seems to have been put into many of the rooms in the building, as well as the curtains that are white with decorations of the same pale pink color._

_Minami’s eyes wander around the room, taking in the number of desks - there are six of them, but two look so clean and orderly that they must be unused. And then, Minami finds herself staring at the body of Habu who is standing in the middle of the room, looking incredibly handsome- Minami averts her eyes for a moment, trying to focus on the pale pink carpet, and then looks back at Habu._

Yes, she’s still handsome. _Having come to that conclusion, Minami feels ready to move on with her mental tour of the room, but then she realizes that Habu is looking at her now. She grins awkwardly, a blush creeping onto her cheeks when the older girl gives her a gentle smile, but then their small interaction is interrupted by the Vice President - Moriya Akane is how she introduced herself during the entrance ceremony, Minami remembers._

_“Habu-chan, did Risa hurt her on purpose?”_

_Habu turns her head to look at her friend, her brows knitting together for a moment. “I_ _don’t think so. She already looked mad when she came out of the classroom… maybe she had a fight with someone else or something,” she muses, shaking her head._

_“_ _Okay. In that case, it doesn’t seem like she’s in any actual danger, but you should keep an eye on Koike-san,” Akane replies after exchanging a quick glance with Yuuka._

_Habu seems ever so slightly confused and turns to look at Minami, who blushes ever so slightly when she meets the older girl’s eyes, quickly averting her own. “So that I can protect her? Alright then, I’ll do it,” she agrees, and Minami feels her cheeks heat up even more._

_She feels oddly happy about the idea of getting to be closer to Habu, even if this circumstance was brought about by an incident of bad luck._

_“Mii-chan?” Habu complies with Minami’s wish regarding the use of her nickname, an innocent tone in her voice; as if she doesn’t realize what she’s doing to the younger girl. “Can you show me which room is yours? I think it would be useful if I knew that.”_

_“Oh, alright.” Minami nods quickly and gives the President and Vice President a thankful nod before she follows Habu out of the room, still holding the cooling pack against the bruise on her temple._

* * *

_Much to her surprise, Minami finds Habu actually keeping an eye on her most of the time. The older girl occasionally checks on her after the daily meetings of the art club that Minami has joined; she comes to greet her in the dining hall during breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and even offers to let Minami and her friends Yui and Aoi move to a different table near the one that the Student Council always sits at - but Minami refuses that with a thankful but awkward smile, not wanting to seem too clingy._

_Aoi and Yui tease her for that, saying that it seems so obvious how smitten she is with the older girl. “You know, you can just admit it already. We can see that you like her,” Yui smirks at her._

_“Well, when will you two admit that you have a thing for Watanabe-san, then?” Minami asks without thinking much of it, causing her classmates to blush and avert their eyes. Only then does Minami realize that this way, they won’t be able to spend as much time together as they had originally planned. Risa hates the Student Council, after all, and is likely not happy about Yui and Aoi spending time with Minami, who is slowly getting closer to the Student Council members._

_An awkward silence hangs over their table for a while, and Minami sighs. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking…”_

_“No no, you’re right,” Aoi shakes her head. “We won’t be able to be like this forever. Not if one of us is friends with the Student Council and the others with Risa. We just have to get used to that.”_

_Yui is the one who speaks up after another moment of silence. “But it shouldn’t be like that, right? We shouldn’t have to stop being friends just because Risa hates the Student Council.”_

_Aoi’s eyebrows furrow and she sounds ever so slightly annoyed when she responds. “That’s exactly why you fought with Risa just a few days ago, and what came out of it? This.” She points at the bruise on Minami’s forehead, which barely hurts anymore but is still a little visible. “I think you should stop questioning her.”_

_“But how can I, if people get hurt because of her hatred? This is precisely why I want to understand her better.” Yui now points at Minami’s bruise as well and the oldest of the three girls sinks into her chair with a sigh._

_“Well, maybe I can ask Habu-san what happened,” she mutters, but her friends barely seem to be listening to her._

_As if she had summoned the other girl simply by saying her name, Habu suddenly walks past them, apparently to check on Minami while she is on her way to the Student Council’s table. “Hi, Mii-chan,” she says with a bright smile. “Is everything okay?”_

_Minami nods, but before she can say anything, Aoi blurts out, “She calls you Mii-chan?”_

_“You do that too!” Minami protests, trying to avoid the likely inevitable teasing before it can even start. “It’s… it’s nothing special.”_

_Yui, whose eyes have been on Habu’s face while Minami was speaking, snorts quietly. “That’s not what Habu-senpai wanted to hear now.”_

_Habu’s eyes go wide, as if she had been caught doing something she was not supposed to, and she shakes her head rapidly. “I… that’s not true!”_

_“Is it not? Okay, then I apologize, Habu-senpai.” Yui forcibly holds back a small chuckle and focuses on her food, her hair falling from her shoulders to hide the amused grin on her face. She might be friends with Risa, but she simply could not pass up an opportunity like this._

_Minami lets out a small whine of embarrassment and looks up at Habu with her cheeks red. “I’m sorry, Habu-san. They’re a little…”_

_“No no, it’s fine,” Habu says so quickly that it almost seems like she stumbles over the words a little. “I, uh… I have to go now. Yukka and the others are waiting for me. I just wanted to see if everything is okay with you.”_

_“Oh, it is, everything is fine. Watanabe-san didn’t hurt me again or anything.” It feels wrong to let the conversation end just like that, so Minami quickly adds, “Uhm, would you… would you want to watch a movie with me or something? We could go to one of the common rooms and…”_

_She trails off, but Habu nods eagerly, an expression of pleasant surprise on her face. “Oh- yes, I’d love that! Let’s meet tomorrow after class, okay?” Her eyes catch an exaggerated movement from the Student Council’s table and she waves back at Fuyuka before giving Minami an awkward smile. “I really should go now. See you tomorrow then.”_

_“Yeah, see you,” Minami replies, her eyes fixated on her senior’s back as she jogs over to her own table._

_Once Habu is out of earshot, Aoi and Yui break into laughter. Minami groans and hits both of their arms, pouting. “Don’t tease me like that!”_

_“It was fun, though.” Yui’s grin is more clearly visible now that she has moved her head, causing her hair to slip away from her face. “Habu-senpai likes you just as much as you like her, I think.”_

_“I- I don’t like her!”_

_“She’d be sad to hear that,” Aoi retorts with a grin. “Didn’t you see how happy she was when you invited her to watch a movie?”_

_Minami sighs and collapses into her chair. “...yeah, she did look happy.”_

_Yui smirks slightly and elbows her friend. “See, she does like you. Just make sure you don’t ruin that relationship with her.”_

_“You’re talking like some old grandma who is passing on her wisdom,” Aoi laughs between two bites of her food. “As if you’ve ever been in love.”_

_Minami seems to be the only one who pays attention to the way Yui tenses up ever so slightly upon hearing that comment. Possibly, she’s not quite_ in love _, but she might certainly be developing actual feelings for a certain someone._

* * *

_Minami does actually end up meeting Habu in one of the common rooms in the afternoon of the following day._

_When Habu comes into the room, she holds up a colorful DVD that has an anime movie on it, and she proudly explains how she had to sneak it into the school because Yuuka’s father hates it when the students get distracted by ‘unnecessary things like this.’ Minami was not planning to watch this type of movie today, but when Habu enthusiastically tells her how good the plot is, she cannot bring herself to say no._

_Abusing her privilege as a member of the Student Council, Habu sticks a note on the outside of the common room door that says ‘Do not enter. -Habu’ and then comes back inside with a grin, telling Minami that nobody is going to interrupt them now._

_“You didn’t have to do this,” Minami mutters with a slight blush on her cheek, and she sees Habu’s lips moving into a pouting expression._

_“But you don’t want anyone to interrupt us, right?”_

_“...no, you’re right, I don’t.” After all, Minami has no idea what might happen during this meeting._

_And so, Habu starts the movie and the two of them sit together on the sofa in the middle of the room. Minami’s cheeks heat up when she notices how close to her the other girl is sitting - their hands are almost touching, but she doesn’t complain, not when she feels so comfortable in Habu’s presence. Not when the way Habu smiles at her is so soft and gentle that it makes her feel all warm and fuzzy inside._

_There is a jumpscare scene in the movie that makes Minami jump in shock and grab onto Habu’s hand without giving it any thought - the older girl apologizes with an awkward smile and says that she forgot to mention that scene, but when Minami whines softly in mild annoyance, she thinks to herself that maybe Habu wanted to scare her, to see how she would react._

_Despite that one scene, Minami enjoys herself a lot, and even unconsciously inches a little closer to the older girl as the movie progresses. She finds herself holding onto Habu’s hand even after the jumpscare, and when the movie ends, she lets go of the other girl’s hand with a deep blush on her cheeks. “I… I’m sorry, Habu-san. I didn’t mean to…”_

_“No, it’s fine,” Habu says a little too quickly, her hand following Minami’s movement before she stops herself, as if she wanted to keep holding Minami’s hand but restrained herself just in time. “I didn’t mind at all.”_

_They are silent for a few moments, both of them blushing at this point, but finally Minami awkwardly clears her throat and speaks up. “Thank you for coming here today, Habu-san. I really enjoyed being with you.”_

_A smile spreads on Habu’s lips, making her relief evident. “I’m glad,” she replies, sounding genuinely happy. “I had fun, too, so let’s do this again? I have some more movies that I’d like to show you.”_

_Minami nods eagerly; she has never been interested in anime and manga very much, but the movie was nice enough, and maybe Habu knows a few more series that she thinks Minami might enjoy. “Of course, if that’s what you want, I’d love to.”_

_When they leave the room, they almost bump into Yui who seems to have been waiting for them in the hallway. “Oh, are you done in there?” Minami’s classmate asks them with a hint of sarcasm in her voice, causing the two girls to blush even more._

_“Y-yeah,” Minami mutters, reaching out and pulling the note Habu put on the door. She expects to be teased by Yui, but the other girl simply pushes herself off the wall she was leaning against, grabs the note from Minami’s hand just to stick it back onto the door, and rushes into the room, slamming the door shut once she is inside._

_A little stunned, Habu and Minami look at each other and then at the door. “Is she okay?” Habu finally speaks up, sounding confused._

_Minami hesitates for a moment. “Maybe… something happened that made her upset? I don’t know, but it doesn’t look like she’s willing to talk to anyone right now. I’ll ask her what’s wrong later when she’s calmed down a little.”_

_The taller girl nods in understanding and starts to lead the way down the hallway towards the students’ bedrooms. “By the way, I’ve been thinking about something, Mii-chan.”_

_“Hmm?”_

_“Would you be interested in joining the Student Council?”_

_Minami’s eyes widen slightly. “Are you serious?” She has never even considered that - but simply the thought of getting to spend more time with Habu certainly is intriguing._

_“That sounds like you don’t want to…”_

_Quickly, Minami shakes her head, not wanting to see Habu’s expression turn disappointed. “No, that’s not what I mean. I just… I’ve never thought that would be a good thing for me to do. I’m not even sure I’d do a good job.”_

_“I’m sure you would,” Habu gives her a bright, encouraging smile. “So, what do you think?”_ _  
  
_

_“I… I’ll think about it,” Minami tries to smile as well, though hers comes out a little more awkward. “But if I do decide to join, I need to sign some kind of paper, right?” She has seen that procedure happen in her previous school. “So can you maybe get me one of those?”_

_“Of course, I’ll prepare everything for you.” Habu smiles proudly, giving her friend a thumbs-up._

_Deciding that it seems like a good enough idea to leave this to Habu - she is the Student Council member after all - Minami decides to focus on Yui for the time being. She sees Yui again during dinner, where the younger girl seems to have calmed down, but is even more quiet than usual._

_“Is everything okay, Yui?” Minami asks before she even starts eating._

_Yui looks up from her plate, glances over at Aoi for a moment, and then nods briefly. “Everything is perfect.”_

_“It doesn’t look like that.” Minami can see that there’s still something off; she has already learned that Yui is normally not_ this _quiet. There are usually always at least a few sarcastic comments coming from her, but there is nothing of that sort happening right now._

_For a few moments, it’s completely silent. Then, Yui says with a shrug, “By the way, maybe you didn’t realize because you were too busy enthusing about Habu-senpai, but Aoi’s moving in with Risa soon.”_

_Minami’s eyes widen a little and she glances over at Aoi who gives her an awkward smile. “That’s good for you, Aoi! I’m sure that’s going to be really nice for you.”_

_“Yeah, I’ve been looking forward to it.”_

_On the other side of the table, Yui sighs quietly and busies herself by stuffing some food into her mouth. This was her way of attempting to tell Minami that_ this _, Aoi moving in with Risa, is her problem, but of course the older girl would focus on Aoi as soon as her name was mentioned - that much was to be expected. Yui knows neither Minami nor Aoi means to hurt her with their actions, but these days she just feels a little left out, especially by the way Risa didn’t even offer to let_ her _move in with her._

_“Yui?” Minami finally notices that Yui doesn’t look nearly as happy for Aoi, and she turns back to face the other girl again. “So, when are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”_

_Yui smiles wryly and shakes her head. “It’s nothing. I’m just tired, really.”_

_Still hesitant, Minami nods; she realizes that there is nothing she can do if Yui really doesn’t want to tell her. “Well… okay. But you know you can tell me, right? And Aoi, too. We’re friends, aren’t we?”_

_“We are,” Yui agrees with another sigh, but does not reveal what is making her feel bad, anyways._

* * *

_It takes a few days for Minami to make up her mind, but she does end up signing the paper that Habu gave her so she can join the Student Council. It feels oddly good to put her signature down on the paper - after all, this paper provides her with even more chances to spend time with Habu without anyone questioning them._

_The only thing that is left is to make this official by giving the signed paper to Yuuka, so Minami heads to the Student Council office after her classes are over in the afternoon._

_Yuuka is alone in the office, and she looks up in surprise when Minami knocks at the door and comes in. “Minami, hello,” she smiles. “You’re here without Habu-chan? How can I help you?”_

_Minami holds up her signed paper, smiling a little. “I’d like to join the Student Council, Sugai-senpai.”_

_Yuuka’s eyes widen. “You want to join us? Really?”_

_“Habu-chan suggested it, and it sounded like a good idea.” She has taken to calling Habu ‘-chan’ lately because Habu has given her permission to do so, and this way of addressing the older girl comes over her lips even easier._

_Yuuka looks hesitant for a moment, but then she nods. “_ _Okay. That’s fine then… as long as you know that not all students in this school like the Student Council.”_

_“It’s always like that, isn’t it?” Minami assumes Yuuka is referring to Risa, of whom she has heard from Aoi and Yui that she despises the Student Council, but she has still not been told the entire story. “There’s always people who don’t support everything you do.”_

_“Well… yes, but it’s more extreme in this school.” Yuuka says that with a heavy sigh. She doesn’t sound happy about the sole thought of telling Minami what is even going on. “If you really want to join us, I won’t stop you, and Akane and I will tell you why things are a little different here.”_

_“I do want to join.” Her voice decisive, Minami puts her paper down on Yuuka’s desk. She has made up her mind already, after all._

_“Good. I’m happy to hear that. Akane and Habu-chan are busy right now, but all of us can meet here tomorrow so that we can talk about… everything.” Yuuka gives her a weak smile as she puts the paper away, and Minami nods in agreement._

_This results in the four of them - Yuuka, Akane, Habu and Minami - sitting in the Student Council office in the next afternoon, together with Saito Fuyuka, the now fifth Student Council member who Minami has somehow managed not to officially meet so far. Minami instantly finds herself liking Fuyuka, however, because Fuyuka has a warm and comforting presence and immediately agrees to call Minami by her nickname._

_Yuuka takes Akane’s hand before she starts talking, looking a little uncomfortable already. Fuyuka offers to speak in her stead, but Yuuka shakes her head with a wry smile. “I’m fine, I need to learn to talk about this.”_

_And thus, she does talk. She talks about Hirate Yurina, who was the frontrunner in last year’s presidential election. About Risa, who was very close friends with Yurina. About how Hirate was bullied and about how Risa now thinks, and will not listen when anyone tries to explain it to her properly, that Yuuka pushed Yurina off the school’s roof because she couldn’t handle the thought of someone else being the Student Council President._

_“So… in the end, it all boils down to ‘Risa-san hates you,’” Minami concludes when she can’t handle the heavy atmosphere and awkward silence in the room anymore._

_Yuuka gives her a sad smile in response. “Well… yes. I understand why she does, too. We hurt Yurina-chan, and Risa cannot forgive us. I wouldn’t be able to forgive her if she hurt one of my closest friends, either.”_

_Fuyuka’s serious expression turns into a frown, her eyebrows knitting together as she pats Yuuka’s back. “Well, that’s an honor, but it wasn’t your fault. But you’ve always had trouble accepting that, so we’re not going to delve into that conversation today.”_

_Habu clears her throat and puts on a smile, but Minami, who has been looking at her face very closely lately, notices that the smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “...anyways, we’re happy to have you here, Mii-chan. If you want, I can help you get used to your duties as a Student Council member.”_

_“I would love that,” Minami agrees immediately, smiling as well. And slowly, the other girls in the room start to smile a little as well, even though their smiles seem weak and sad._

_Habu leads her to one of the two clean, empty desks and puts a name sign down on it that makes it clear that this is now Minami’s desk. She also walks the younger girl through all the most important documents that they have to deal with - such as those for the distribution of the money that the clubs receive once a year and those for the organization of the school festival that will happen in November. There are the monthly questionnaires too; the students are given those questionnaires so that the Student Council can see how they feel in the school._

_(Risa’s questionnaire always, without exception, comes back with the phrase ‘Pay for what you did’ written across it in large letters. At this point, Akane has told Fuyuka and Habu long ago to throw those questionnaires away before Yuuka sees them. Minami receives the same instruction, whispered into her ear by Habu.)_

_Her now officiated closeness with Habu is the reason why Minami finally agrees to sit at the same table as the other Student Council members. After all, she is now one of them, and were she not with them, it would give the Student Council an image of incompletion that they cannot afford to have._

_Her last dinner at her table with Yui and Aoi is on the evening of the day she learns the truth about Hirate Yurina. It feels a little strange not to be able to tell her friends why their beloved Risa behaves the way she does - Fuyuka asked her not to tell anyone - but Minami understands that that knowledge would only cause more trouble than good._

_And thus, all she tell them is, “I won’t be able to eat with you two anymore.”_

_Aoi’s eyes go wide and Yui, although her expression is calm, raises her head quickly. “What?”_

_“I told you, right? That I was thinking about joining the Student Council.”_

_“Oh. And you did it now?” Aoi asks, quickly putting two and two together. “But we can still be friends, right?”_

_“Of course, that’s not what I meant. Well… if Risa-san still lets you talk to me,” Minami adds with a sigh. “But I need to sit with them from now on, after Yuuka-senpai introduces me as a member of the Student Council.”_

_The two younger girls nod in understanding. “Right,” Yui agrees with a small sigh. “Okay. So this is our last dinner together?”_

_Minami gives them an awkward smile. “Yeah… but well, that means you two can eat with Risa-san from now on. No need to let me tie you down anymore.”_

_Aoi chuckles quietly and Yui smiles tiredly. “Alright.”_

_Yuuka introduces Minami as a member of the Student Council on that same evening, after dinner. She also announces, quieter and when most of the other students have already left her dining hall, that she will move Minami to a room on a higher floor. “We all have single rooms, so I can't offer you to share a room with Habu-chan,” she says, with a hint of hesitation in her voice but with a smile on her lips. “But there’s two free rooms in our hallway, so you will be able to move into one of those.”_

_The thought of sharing a room with Habu would have excited Minami, but it seems like that is not possible. She has heard Habu talking about Yuuka and Akane sleeping in the same room, but from what she has seen, it seems like the two of them might be dating - which is a step Habu and Minami herself haven’t taken, and likely aren’t going to take anytime soon, so it would be weird for them to sleep together if there aren’t two separate beds._

_Since Minami is a Student Council member now, the paperwork for her room change is finished much faster than that for Aoi’s move into Risa’s room, and she is already packing up her belongings on the following day. Her new room is directly next to Habu’s, which in turn is directly next to Yuuka’s - they are best friends after all, and on Yuuka’s other side are Akane and Fuyuka’s rooms, in that order._

_Living on the same floor as them now, Minami soon learns that Akane rarely sleeps in her own room; she has learned, and was told to keep it a secret no matter what, that Akane is indeed dating Yuuka, and Habu reveals to her that Yuuka has not slept alone ever since the day Yurina fell off the roof._

_“I don’t think I’ve ever heard them say ‘I love you’ to each other,” Habu once tells Minami quietly, even though they are sitting in Minami’s room alone; the President and Vice President’s relationship is a subject that absolutely nobody can find out about. “There’s something much deeper than just love going on between them, I think.”_

_Minami’s eyebrows furrow a little, thinking to herself that she would already be happy enough to be ‘just loved’ by the person she has developed an interest in, but she agrees. There is definitely some kind of deep understanding between Yuuka and Akane, something that she will possibly never come to with Habu, no matter how much she wants it._

_The relationship between Habu and Minami soon grows tighter as they spend even more time together. Since their rooms are now next to each other, they don’t even have to split up for those ways, which results in Habu taking Minami to her classroom in the morning and picking her up from her art club meetings in the afternoon._

_The other Student Council members pick up on that, of course. Especially Akane often grins at them and asks Habu when she’s planning to kiss Minami, and Fuyuka occasionally tries to create opportunities for them to be alone._

_However, Minami never mentions her feelings for Habu. They have grown, but she is not entirely sure if Habu_ really _feels the same way, so she has decided to wait and see if Habu will do something that actually proves that she likes Minami as well._

_The time when Habu reveals her true feelings comes much earlier than Minami ever anticipated. She picks Minami up from an art club meeting in the afternoon, and instead of heading straight to the Student Council office like they usually do, Habu leads the way to a more secluded hallway of the school building._

_“What are we doing here?” Minami asks in confusion, her eyebrows furrowing slightly._

_“Just… give me a second, okay?” Habu looks ever so slightly embarrassed, but then she smiles. “Mii-chan, I want to ask you something.”_

_“What is it?”_

_“I… you’re not dating anyone, right?”_

_For a moment, Minami wonders if Habu seriously hasn’t realized that she hasn’t hung out with anyone other than the Student Council members - who are absolutely out of the question - and Yui and Aoi - who are also out of the question - in many weeks. “No, I’m not.”_

_“Then… would you like to date me?”_

_The confession sounds awkward, and it’s not at all how Minami has always imagined her ideal confession to go. But it’s a confession_ from Habu _, which makes it much better than anything Minami has ever dared to imagine._

_A wide smile spreads on her lips and Minami nods resolutely. “Of course!” she exclaims, reaching up to pull Habu into a tight hug. “Of course I want to!”_

_“Really?” Habu asks, but her arms are already coming up to hold onto Minami tightly. “I’m so glad.”_

_Minami smiles into the fabric of Habu’s school uniform, where her face is now buried. “Me too. I was already worried you might not like me at all.”_

_“How could I not?”_

_Minami chuckles in embarrassment and moves back a little, “That… don’t say that, it sounds embarrassing.”_

_A small laugh escapes Habu’s lips and she takes the shorter girl’s hand into her own. “Well… so we’re a couple now?”_

_“Yeah.” The thought of her wish having actually come true still feels a little unfamiliar to Minami, but in a good way. She smiles brightly as she follows her now-girlfriend back to the Student Council office, where Habu bursts into the room without even knocking at the door._

_“Yukka, guess what happened today,” the taller girl starts cheerfully, her hand still holding onto Minami’s hand tightly._

_Minami is sure that Yuuka can tell what happened simply by looking at them, but the President just smiles weakly. “What happened, Habu-chan?”_

_“I asked Mii-chan out!” Habu sounds proud of herself, as if she had been planning this for a while. Minami did not notice that at all, but maybe she was just too distracted by all the new things she has had to do since joining the Student Council. “And she said yes, so we’re dating now!”_

_The corners of Yuuka’s mouth seem to twitch slightly, as if she’s not entirely happy with her two friends dating, but she keeps smiling. “That’s… nice, I’m happy for you. Congrats.”_

_Habu pulls Minami over towards her desk and the two of them sit down next to each other, the older girl’s arm coming to rest around Minami’s waist. Minami leans into the touch, but her eyes linger on Yuuka for a moment, taking in the way the President sighs softly and focuses on her work again. The younger girl makes a mental note to pay more attention to Yuuka's behavior from now on, to see if she seems jealous in any way; but for now, she wants to focus on how good and warm her new girlfriend’s touch is making her feel._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Here](https://twitter.com/_satoshioris/status/1332986121731575808) is a thread on Twitter where I talk about my thoughts about this AU and where I'll post updates!
> 
> The warnings in the tags don't apply to all chapters; when they apply, it will be mentioned in an author's note.


	5. 03

The rain is pouring on this Sunday morning.

Yui looks out of the window of her room with a sigh, her eyes falling on the gym of the school. It is a separate building behind the main school building, surrounded by a beautiful garden and outside sports area. The lights in the gym are on, which means that someone must be in there - and Yui has a feeling she knows exactly who.

Her assumption proves to be true when Aoi knocks at her door, a slightly worried expression on her face. “Risa went to the gym early today, and she didn’t take an umbrella. It can’t be good for her body if she walks through the rain when she’s all sweaty from her practice.”

Yui’s eyebrows furrow with a hint of frustration. “Then why don’t you go and bring her an umbrella?” Lately, seeing Aoi and Risa together has irritated her quite a bit, even though all three of them are good friends.

Aoi’s expression becomes a little sad. “What are you saying? I thought you might want to go see her. You’re being weird lately, Yui.”

Yui lets out a sigh, her expression softening a little. “Sorry. I’m just… tired these days.” She didn’t mean to snap at Aoi like that.

After a moment of hesitation, Aoi smiles weakly. “Don’t worry about it, it’s okay. Just… do you want to go or not?”

“I’ll go,” Yui decides, grabbing her umbrella from where it leans against the wall near the door. “Thanks for telling me, Aoi.” As she heads down the stairs, she realizes that she doesn’t quite understand why Aoi didn’t just go herself - after all, the other girl likes Risa as well. But she isn’t going to complain about getting a chance to be alone with the girl she likes.

Yui makes her way towards the back door that still looks much grander than any other back door Yui has seen in other schools and opens her umbrella as she steps out into the rain. She walks over to the gym and steps inside, deciding to wait for Risa in the hallway.

The older girl comes out of the changing room a short time later, the tips of her hair wet and clinging to her neck. “Yui?” she asks in surprise when she sees the younger girl. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s raining outside, and it wouldn’t be good for your health if you go outside like this.” Smiling a little awkwardly, Yui gestures at Risa’s body. “So I came to bring you an umbrella.”

Risa stops in her tracks for a moment but then continues to walk over to Yui. “Alright, let’s go then.” She takes the umbrella from Yui’s hand and holds it over their heads as they step outside because she is taller than the other girl, causing Yui to blush slightly.

They walk back towards the school building, but suddenly, Risa stops in her tracks. “Can I show you something, Yui?”

“What? Now?”

“Yes, now.”

“Of course.” Yui wants to go back inside, but she is not going to waste this chance to get a glimpse into Risa’s mind. “What are you going to show me?”

“Just wait and see.” Risa leads the way to a single tree in the garden that surrounds the school, stopping under it with a heavy sigh.

For a while, it is completely silent, until Yui speaks up hesitantly. “So… what about this tree?”

Risa hesitates for a moment longer, but finally she explains. “This is where Manaka confessed to me.”

Yui’s eyes widen slightly. She has always assumed that Risa used to date her former roommate, but she never received any confirmation for that. “It is…?”

“Yes. It was today, two years ago.” Risa reaches out and runs her hand over the bark of the tree, sighing quietly.

“But… why are you telling me?”

“I needed to tell _someone_ ,” Risa mutters, lowering her head to stare at the ground.

A certain bitter taste fills Yui’s mouth. “So you would’ve told Aoi if she’d come to pick you up?”

“No, I wouldn’t.” Risa glances over at the younger girl briefly. “Does that matter?”

Yui quickly shakes her head, suddenly feeling ever so slightly relieved. Maybe this can be something only her and Risa know about - though she doubts that the two of them are _really_ the only ones in the school who know about it. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Good. And just so you know, you don’t have to talk about this with anyone. It’s important for me, not for anyone else.”

A part of Yui wants to ask why Risa thought it would be important for her, then, but she restrains herself and just nods. “Okay, of course. So… you don’t have to tell me if it’s too painful for you, but… did you and Manaka-san break up when she left the school?”

Risa’s body seems to twitch slightly and she stares at the tree as if she wanted to set it on fire. “No. We didn’t break up. She promised to wait for me.”

Yui feels her heart sinking. “Oh,” she whispers softly, biting her lip hard in an attempt to hide her disappointment. “I see. That’s… good for you.”

“Are you okay? You sound weird,” Risa seems to notice the sad tone in Yui’s voice, though she does not seem to attribute it to the fact that her response made the younger girl unhappy.

“No, everything is fine,” Yui lies, forcing herself to smile. “I just… remembered something sad. It doesn’t have anything to do with you. Can we… uh, can we go back inside?”

“Yeah, okay.” Risa lets out a sigh and touches the bark of the tree once more, seemingly lost in her memory of Manaka’s confession for a few moments before she starts to walk ahead towards the school building.

Yui stays where she is, the rain falling down on her and wetting her hair. For a moment, she just stands there and loses herself in her thoughts about how she is never going to win Risa’s heart over because there will always be Manaka who still has all of the older girl’s love.

And then Risa calls for her, confused because Yui is still standing there, and when Yui runs over to join her under the umbrella, she decides to at least tell Risa about her feelings before the older girl graduates.

* * *

\- 2 years earlier -

_About two months have passed since the beginning of the school year, and Risa already feels as close to her roommate, Shida Manaka, as she has rarely felt to anyone else. Both of them are mostly quiet girls, but when they are together, they can have fun and come out of their shells._

_Risa likes Manaka’s best friend, Hirate Yurina, too, but Manaka herself is on a whole different level. There is something about Manaka, and especially her stupidly beautiful and bright smile that always draws Risa towards her._

_Manaka often finds their classes boring, but she has stopped talking about trying to leave the school early ever since her second or third day with Risa. Soon, Yurina learns to smile knowingly whenever she sees the way Manaka looks at her roommate. “You like Risa, don’t you?” Yurina asks one afternoon when she’s in the gym with Manaka and Risa, playing volleyball with her friends._

_Manaka’s face instantly reddens and she steps closer to Yurina, hissing at her best friend, “Don’t say that so loudly when Risa can hear it!”_

_“You’re not denying it,” Yurina chuckles, lowering her voice as Manaka asked her to._

_Manaka averts her eyes, her cheeks still red. “...no, I’m not.”_

_“So when are you going to tell Risa that you like her?”_

_“She probably doesn’t like me. Have you seen how she looks at Neru and Ozeki?” Ozeki is one of their classmates, a girl who Risa has known since before their enrollment in Sakurazaka Gakuen. Her seat is right next to Risa’s, on Risa’s left side while Manaka sits at Risa’s right, and Risa occasionally talks about how cute she finds Ozeki. Neru, on the other hand, is Yurina’s roommate who spends a lot of time with them and who Risa seems to stare at a lot._

_Yurina shakes her head, smiling widely. “I think she does like you, and Neru thinks that too.”_

_Risa throws a ball towards them, so they have to pause their conversation, though Yurina’s playful expression clearly shows that she isn’t going to let this go so easily._

_Just as Manaka expected, Yurina sticks close to her after that conversation. “Where would you want to confess to Risa?” she asks curiously when Risa is still in the shower while the two of them are already getting dressed._

_Manaka shrugs slightly. “I… don’t know yet.”_

_“That was a pretty long pause.” Yurina puts the shirt of her school uniform on and starts to button it up._

_“...fine, maybe I’ve been thinking about… the tree in the schoolyard.” Quickly, Manaka adds, “Don’t you dare laugh at me!”_

_Yurina grins in satisfaction. “Hey, that’s cute. I wasn’t going to laugh at you. If I wanted to confess to someone, I’d think about that place too.”_

_“Well,_ do _you want to confess to someone?”_

_“Oh no, we’re not turning the conversation this way, Pippi!” Laughing, Yurina grabs her bag and jumps to her feet, running towards the door now that she is fully dressed._

_Manaka follows, a grin on her face. She feels a little reassured to hear that apparently the tree doesn’t seem too sappy of a place for a confession, even if that confirmation comes from her best friend who usually supports her with anything._

_Thus, a few days later, Manaka gathers her courage. She has had long conversations that went on until their evening curfew with Yurina and her roommate Neru (much to the disappointment of Risa, who has noticed Manaka spending time away from her a lot lately), and on a beautiful, sunny afternoon in June, Manaka feels brave enough to confess her feelings to Risa._

_“Risa, I need you to come with me for a bit,” she speaks up when their lunch break starts, before Risa can head to the dining hall._

_Risa’s eyebrows furrow ever so slightly. “Can’t that wait until after lunch?”_

_“No, I’ll have lost my courage by then,” Manaka declares, taking Risa’s hand into hers and pulling the shorter girl along with her without even giving her the time to answer._

_Risa sighs softly as she is dragged behind her roommate, thinking to herself that Manaka has certainly been behaving oddly lately, but she doesn’t try to free herself. If this is something Manaka needs courage for, it must be important._

_Manaka takes her to the tree in the schoolyard, an area of the school grounds that is luckily empty right now. It already took her enough mental preparation to bring up the courage to do this for Risa alone, so she really doesn’t want any spectators._

_“So… what do you want to do here?” Risa asks, ever so slightly apprehensive, when they stop under the tree._

_For a few moments, Manaka is silent; but then she clears her throat and seriously looks into her roommate’s eyes. “I… have something to tell you, Risa.” She silences the other girl by squeezing her hand tightly when Risa wants to speak up. “I really like you, Risa.”_

_Risa’s eyes widen a little. “Oh… well, thanks, I like yo-”_

_“No, what I mean is, I_ like _you. As in, I’d like to be your girlfriend. If that’s okay with you.” Manaka’s heart clenches a little; she messed up now. She said none of the things she actually wanted to say, none of the things Yurina and Neru told her to say - though most of those things were just silly, sappy, overly romantic lines from some romance novels they found in the library anyways - and she is sure that Risa never wanted a confession like this, and especially not from her._

_But maybe she is wrong about that._

_Risa is silent for a while that drags on much too long for Manaka’s taste, and the younger girl already opens her mouth to say something along the lines of, ‘I was just joking, do you really think I’d fall in love with you?’ But suddenly, Risa speaks up. “That’s more than okay with me.”_

_Manaka’s mouth stays the way it is, her jaw even dropping a little lower as she stands still in surprise. “That’s… okay? Really? Are you sure?”_

_A tiny laugh escapes Risa’s lips. “I wouldn’t have said it if I wasn’t sure. Were you not serious about it?” Her voice grows to sound almost a little hurt by the time she finishes her last sentence, so Manaka quickly cuts in._

_“No no, I was serious, really. I do want to be your girlfriend.”_

_Risa smiles a little. “Then… let’s do that. Let’s be girlfriends.”_

_Manaka grins brightly and leans in, clumsily smashing her lips against Risa’s. And Risa doesn’t push her away._

_This confession, much to Manaka’s relief, does not seem to change anything between them in terms of the way they interact. They hold hands and kiss occasionally now, but other than that, their closeness still feels the same to them. If anything, any hints of awkwardness caused by Manaka’s secretive behavior have disappeared after her confession because she doesn’t have to hide her feelings anymore._

_However, what does change are their friends. When Neru first joins the Student Council, nobody thinks much of it; it is a role that suits her since she is smart and likes to help others. She gets along with the other members well, but what does come as a bit of a surprise is the fact that Yurina joins the Student Council only a short time after her roommate. She seems to enjoy it, though, so neither Manaka nor Risa questions her decision._

_Neru and Yurina introduce the two of them to Sugai Yuuka, the headmaster’s daughter, and her roommate, Moriya Akane. They are kind girls who seem intent on voting for Yurina should she decide to run for the position of the Student Council President - which is something that Neru suggested and convinced Yurina of because of how popular she is. When they are together, Risa acts as cool as she always does, but Manaka realizes that she seems to soak in anything Yuuka says like a sponge; they are in the same year, but Yuuka seems kinder and more admirable than many other students._

_Maybe, Manaka thinks, Risa is impressed with how natural all of Yuuka’s behavior is despite her being the headmaster’s daughter. That_ is _admirable, really; her family literally owns the school, but Yuuka refuses to see herself as anyone special. Occasionally, there are conversations about how Yuuka’s parents would surely love to see the Student Council be led by their daughter, but Yuuka very vehemently refuses the idea of that._

_“I was President in middle school,” she explains in embarrassment, scratching the back of her head. “But I didn’t like it. The only reason I did it was because my parents wanted me to. But this time I said I wouldn’t do it again.”_

_Thus, Yurina signs up as a candidate for the position of the Student Council President. Her popularity has skyrocketed ever since another student saw her play basketball with Manaka and told her friends about how cool she looked; all her friends are sure she could win the election with ease._

_But then, the end of the year slowly approaches, and Yurina finds a letter on her desk in the classroom._

**Retire from the election. You don’t deserve to become President.**

_Manaka is even more shocked about that than Risa. She pretends to be fine when Yurina is around, but as soon as the two of them retreat to their room in the evening, she looks at Risa with an almost desperate expression. “Who did that?! Techi doesn’t deserve to be treated like that.”_

_“I don’t know. We can’t really do anything about it either, Manaka.”_

_“Yes, we can. Let’s protect her, Risa. I want to protect her, nobody should hurt her.”_

_Risa lets out a small sigh, but she nods in agreement. They cannot let anyone hurt Yurina, especially if she is to become the next Student Council President. “Alright. We’ll protect her together, then.”_

* * *

Seki and Ten are sitting in the library together, a couple of books opened up on the table between them as they’re working on their part of the project that they were told to do together with Matsuda, Inoue and Takemoto. It is quiet there, which is one of the things that the two of them enjoy the most about the library.

However, their blissful silence that is only filled with the scratching of their pens on the paper is interrupted when a girl bursts into the library and yells, breaking one of the library’s rules, “Kobayashi Yui is singing in the music room!”

Suddenly, a murmur rises among some of the other students in the library. Kobayashi Yui seems to be a popular student, judging solely by the reaction that the mention of her name brings about, but Ten and Seki perk up because they remember Hikaru whining about how she can’t seem to find a certain ‘Yui’ who might be able to shed some light on Watanabe Risa’s hatred for the Student Council.

For a moment, the two first-years look at each other in silence, both searching for an answer to the silent question that lingers between them in the other’s eyes. Finally, Ten speaks up and says what both of them are thinking. “Wanna go?”

“Sure,” Seki agrees, and the two of them get up and leave their belongings behind in their spots, just like the other students who leave their chairs to listen to Kobayashi Yui.

When they get to the music room, the two of them are mildly surprised to see that the crowd that Kobayashi Yui has attracted is nowhere as big as they were expecting. A few students are standing around her while some others sit on the chairs that have been pushed to the back of the room, but there is easily enough space for Ten and Seki to find themselves a comfortable spot in the classroom.

At least they find themselves not regretting that they came to the music room, even if there is no guarantee that this Yui is who they’re looking for. She is playing the guitar with a passion that makes Seki think that she really needs to play her saxophone again, and when she starts to sing, Ten closes her eyes and allows herself to get lost in the voice of the girl who is, judging by her necktie, in her second year.

Eventually, Yui stops singing and her audience slowly trails out of the music room, leaving Ten and Seki behind with the older girl. Plucking at the strings of her guitar aimlessly for a while, Yui doesn’t even look up and acknowledge their presence, but when she stops and moves to put her guitar into its case, she suddenly winces slightly. “Ah! What are you doing there?”

“I’m sorry,” Seki apologizes with an awkward smile, having to hope that Yui won’t consider them creeps for standing there in absolute silence for at least ten minutes. “We didn’t mean to scare you. Your singing was very nice.”

Next to her, Ten nods in agreement, giving Yui a shy smile.

The older girl nods slightly, accepting the compliment. “Thank you.” And after a few seconds of silence, she adds, “Is that all, then? I told Risa I’d pick her up from the gym and her club session should be almost o-”

“Oh!” It’s Ten who blurts out a sound this time, turning to look at Seki with wide eyes. “Maybe it’s her, then!”

“Maybe I’m who?” Yui asks, her eyebrows furrowing in slight confusion.

Seki is the one who delivers an explanation. “We were wondering if you’d be willing to… tell us some things about Watanabe-senpai.”

Yui remains silent as she packs up her guitar, seemingly lost deep in thought. Once she is done, she looks up at the two girls in front of her. “Okay.”

“O-okay?” Ten repeats in mild surprise. “You’re agreeing just like that?”

“Yes.” Yui gets up, slipping the carrying strap of her guitar case over her shoulder. “There’s not much I can tell you anyways; Risa doesn’t tell me as much as I’d like her to. I might be her friend, but I don’t know much more about her than the average student here.”

“Oh… thank you.” Seki smiles shyly. “You definitely know more than us, at least.”

“I don’t have time for that right now, though,” Yui adds, heading towards the door with a small, apologetic smile. “Like I said, I promised Risa to meet her. So… let’s meet tomorrow after our club hours, maybe?”

“That would be great, thank you. Do you mind if we bring one of our friends? She’s very… interested in this story.” Seki knows that Hikaru would never forgive them if they talked to Yui without her.

Yui nods, leading the way down the hallway now to head to the side exit that opens onto the pathway leading to the gym. “Sure, that’s fine. There’s no big secrets in what I can tell you. See you tomorrow then.” With that, she jogs down the pathway, leaving the two first-years behind in the hallway.

For a few moments, Ten and Seki stand there and watch her leave. “That… went well, huh?” Ten mutters, turning around to her roommate. “Hikaru will be happy.”

“You act like you’re not curious.”

“...maybe I am,” the younger girl admits with a sigh, “maybe a little. But I’m still not sure we should really get involved in all this.”

“Well, yes,” Seki agrees with a sigh. “But maybe we’re already involved, so… we might as well try to get something out of it, right? I agree with you, though. We definitely shouldn’t take any risks.”

And yet, they are the ones who have just contacted Yui, thus taking the first big step in Hikaru’s investigation. That seems like a considerably big risk, but they can’t make it undone anymore. They have already received Yui’s permission to let Hikaru ask her some questions, so all they can do is hope that Hikaru will let the sleeping dogs lie.

* * *

Hikaru is bobbing up and down on the balls of her feet with impatience as they wait for Yui in front of the library on the next day. She sneaked out of her art club meeting early, whereas Seki and Ten who are part of the ‘go home club’ - even though there is no ‘home’ to go to for the students in this school - have been sitting in the library for a while.

“What is she like?” Hikaru speaks up suddenly, breaking the silence between her and her classmates. She is the only one who eagerly agreed to meet Yui with Seki and Ten; Karin, who found out about Yui in the first place, is still hesitant to meet strangers, and their other friends are still busy with their respective clubs.

“Who?” Ten asks, and Hikaru rolls her eyes.

“Kobayashi-senpai, of course! Who else?”

“Oh.” The two taller girls look at each other in silence for a moment before Seki speaks up. “She seemed… nice.”

“Nice? That’s all?”

“She’s good at singing,” Ten adds, glancing at her roommate briefly. “Right?”

“Yes, it sounded really nice.”

Silence falls over them again, but only a few minutes later, a girl approaches them - Kobayashi Yui, who is carrying her guitar case over her shoulder. “Sorry I’m late, I got a little too lost in my practice.”

“It’s fine,” Seki starts, smiling a little. “We haven’t been waiting for very long.” Surely, their wait must have felt like an eternity to Hikaru, but she doesn’t want to say that out loud.

“So, uhm… do you guys want to come to my room? It might be better if we have some privacy when talking about this.” Yui gives them a slightly awkward smile. She starts to lead the way to her room, suddenly turning to look at Hikaru. “You must be the friend they mentioned. I’m Kobayashi Yui.”

“Ah, yes,” Hikaru quickly replies, nodding hurriedly. “I’m Morita Hikaru, it’s nice to meet you. So… you’re friends with Risa-senpai?”

“We’ll talk about that when we’re in my room, okay?” Yui leads them to a room that is on a floor higher than the first-years’ own rooms, but not the highest floor in the school.

Taking note of that, Seki looks around in mild curiosity. “You… are of a higher rank than we are, it seems.”

Yui lets out a brief laugh. “I started out on the lowest floor too; everyone does. Some of my classmates still live there, and that’s no problem at all. In fact… I only live up here because Risa had a serious conversation with the Student Council for me.” She unlocks the door to her room and gestures for the younger girls to come in.

They step inside and look around curiously, and then Hikaru clears her throat. “Yeah… well, that’s what I’d like to ask you about. Your relationship with Risa-senpai.”

Yui gives her another short, slightly bitter laugh. “I know. There’s not much of a relationship there, though… we’re just friends.” She almost looks a little regretful when she says that.

Hikaru’s eyebrows furrow ever so slightly, as if she’s thinking hard about what to say but cannot come up with anything good. “Oh…”

“Well, but you don’t want to learn about my love life, you want to learn about Risa,” Yui says, putting down her guitar case resolutely. “Feel free to sit down wherever you want.” She gestures at her bed and the chair that belongs to her desk and sits down on the bed herself.

For a few moments, it’s silent in the room while Hikaru pulls the chair over towards the bed and sits down close in front of Yui in order to look her in the eyes. Feeling not that close to their senpai, Ten and Seki stand behind their classmate a little awkwardly.

Then, Yui clears her throat. “Alright, before you ask any questions, I’ll tell you what I know. I’m in my second year now, and Risa is in her third. When she was in her first year, she was friends with a student named Hirate Yurina.”

Hikaru raises her hand as a gesture for Yui to stop and takes out a small notepad, quickly noting down Yurina’s full name. “Okay, please go on.”

Yui smiles in slight amusement about the younger girl’s eagerness, but resumes her story without commenting on it. “Hirate-san was really popular, to the point where she joined the Student Council and became a candidate in the presidential election. And apparently everyone liked her so much that it was clear that she’d become the President even before the election happened. But obviously… not everyone thought the same way.”

Hikaru perks up a little. “Was she asked to retire from the election?”

“Not exactly. Risa hasn’t told me all the details, but she did say Hirate-san was bullied. I don’t think anyone ever found out for sure who the bullies were, but apparently even some teachers were involved.”

Seki and Ten look at each other in silence, their eyes wide. They are only here because it would have been weird for them to leave Hikaru alone with Yui, but they never expected to hear such a horrible story.

Yui takes in their expressions, nodding slightly. “Yes, it’s shocking, right? But here comes the real problem. Obviously, Hirate-san didn’t handle the bullying well. Risa never told me how exactly it came to this - maybe she doesn’t know either… but she said one day, someone heard voices from the roof, and something… something big fell down from up there. When Risa went to check that out, she found Sugai-san and Moriya-san at the edge of the roof.”

Next to Ten, Seki gasps in shock, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. “And Hirate-san…?””

For a moment, it is completely silent in the room, the atmosphere feeling heavy and dark. “Hirate-san fell off the roof,” Yui then says, her voice quiet. “Don’t worry, as far as I know, she survived. She must have been incredibly lucky.”

Hikaru turns around, exchanging a wide-eyed glance with Ten and Seki. “Did… did Sugai-senpai and Moriya-senpai push her?”

Once again, Yui pauses for a moment. “I have no idea. Risa says they did, she says she saw Sugai-san’s hand outstretched like she had pushed Hirate-san. But… I’m really not sure if that’s how it _was_ , or if it’s how she _saw_ it in her anger.”

The younger girls nod slowly, their expressions a little wary. “So nobody knows for sure if Sugai-senpai actually did it?” Hikaru asks.

The older girl nods seriously. “She never confirmed or denied it in public. Obviously, if I was involved in something like that, I wouldn’t want to talk about it either. A lot of students believe what Risa says, but… I’ve never had a purely rational conversation about this with her. Until now, I haven’t been able to figure out if what she says is the truth.”

Hikaru’s pen scratches on the paper as she quickly tries to take notes of everything Yui is saying. “So… you’re planning to talk to Sugai-senpai about all this?”

“I’m not sure she’ll tell me anything, she probably hates to even think about this. But I’ll try to see if I can get anything out of her at all, or maybe out of Moriya-san.”

“Well… if you do talk to them, we would love to hear what they say,” Seki speaks up, hesitance in her voice. Her utterance is backed up by the nod Ten gives next to her. She’s still not entirely convinced that this is a great idea, but they might already be too deeply involved in this to get out of it.

Yui smiles wryly. “So you guys are really investigating, huh? Is it just the three of you, or are more of your friends involved?”

Hikaru pauses for a moment. “Well… there’s nine of us. The others know I’m looking into this, but they haven’t really joined me in it yet. In fact, these two,” she points over her shoulder at Ten and Seki, “are only here because they found you before I could.”

Yui raises an eyebrow, seeming a little curious now. “How did you find me, anyways? I mean, most of the second and third year students know that I’m friends with Risa, but it’s not like I introduced myself as her friend during your entrance ceremony.”

The three of them remain silent for a moment. Ten and Seki realize that they genuinely don’t know where the information about Yui came from - Hikaru just randomly asked them to look for someone named Yui during breakfast a few days ago - whereas Hikaru is trying to come up with an explanation that won’t leave Yui despising Karin for listening in on her conversation.

“We were looking for someone who can tell us more about Risa-senpai, and we heard someone mentioning that ‘Yui is close to Risa,’” Hikaru eventually explains. “But we didn’t know your last name or anything else about you, so it took us a while to find you.”

A small chuckle leaves Yui’s lips. “Well, you did find me in the end, so that means you guys are good detectives, huh?”

“We’re not…” Ten trails off, waving her hand in front of her face. She is blushing a little now, and so is Seki. “It was just a coincidence that we found you, really.”

Yui smiles at them in amusement. “So… Morita-san, right? And…”

Seki clasps her hand over her mouth in shock when a realization hits her. “We never introduced ourselves! I apologize. My name is Seki Yumiko, and this is Yamasaki Ten.”

Next to her, Ten bows slightly, even more embarrassed now. Belonging to prestigious, rich families, this is not how they were raised.

“It’s fine, it’s no problem at all!” Yui still seems more amused than mad, and she shakes her head. “Morita-san, Seki-san, and Yamasaki-san, then. We… can share our information once I’ve talked to Sugai-san.”

“Really?” Hikaru’s expression brightens and she smiles in relief. “That’s great, thank you, Kobayashi-senpai.”

“Well, we all want to know what happened back then, so an agreement like this only makes sense. Just… please tell me if you find out anything new too, alright?”

“Of course,” Hikaru responds enthusiastically, giving a decisive nod.

A short time later, the three of them are walking down the stairs to the floor that they live on. “That was insightful, wasn’t it?” Hikaru hums thoughtfully, looking down at the notepad in her hand.

“Isn’t it kind of dangerous, though?” Seki asks, a worried tone in her voice. “That Hirate-san was bullied so badly that she may have tried to…”

Ten nods, a frown on her face. “Yeah, what if we get into trouble with this? My parents would kill me if I got kicked out of this school, me being here really means a lot to them.”

Hikaru is silent for a few moments, but then she shakes her head. “We won’t get into trouble. And if we do, I’ll take responsibility.”

“Take responsibility for what?” A new voice speaks up, joining their conversation out of nowhere. When the three of them turn around in surprise, they find Matsuda, Takemoto and Inoue walking right behind them; apparently they are on the way to their room and have just come up from the ground floor where the classrooms are.

“Oh, did you learn anything new?” Inoue asks curiously, apparently remembering that Seki and Ten brought up their meeting with Yui during the previous night’s dinner.

“We learned a lot of new things,” Hikaru nods, smiling proudly. “Basically, we now know Risa-senpai’s side of the story, so that gives us something to work with.”

The three roommates nod their heads almost in unison, causing Ten to wonder if they really are on the same wavelength to _that_ extent. “Just don’t do anything too dangerous,” Matsuda says with a small sigh. “We’ll help you out if you need us to, okay?”

Hikaru gives her a thankful smile. “Thanks. And don’t worry, that’s what I meant I’d take responsibility for. If anyone tries to blame you guys for anything… it was all my idea, I just dragged you guys into it.”

That is the truth, but they all can tell that Matsuda doesn’t look entirely happy with the thought of that. She doesn’t protest though, and just smiles weakly. “...okay.”

Takemoto elbows her, a small grin on her lips. “Hey, you can’t always be in charge of everything. If this is what Hikaru wants, then…”

Matsuda lets out another sigh, giving in with a nod. “Yeah… you have a point there. So, what’s your plan from now on, Hikaru?”

“Well, Kobayashi-senpai said she wanted to talk to someone from the Student Council, so I think we should wait until she tells us about the outcome of that, right?”

“What about Hono? She probably shouldn’t get too involved in this… she’s in the volleyball club after all.” The concerned tone has returned to Matsuda’s voice, though for a different reason this time.

Hikaru’s cheerful expression falls. She had hoped to be able to do all of this together with Hono - they have been best friends for many years, after all - but Matsuda is right; Hono would most likely not like to be hated by Risa for being involved in this investigation. “You’re right. I’ll try to keep her out of it.”

Matsuda looks a little relieved at that. “Good. That would probably be better for her.”

That night, Hikaru and Hono lie in their beds, the lights already switched off - but Hono notices with ease that her roommate seems to be reading something with a flashlight under her blanket.

“Hii-chan?” Hono speaks up quietly, even though she knows her friend is still awake. “What are you doing?”

Hikaru’s flashlight is switched off and there is some rustling audible from her side of the room. Finally, she responds to the question, sounding a little embarrassed. “Sorry, I was looking at some notes I took earlier.”

“Is this about your investigation?” Something clicks in Hono’s mind and she continues, “Wait, didn’t you meet someone for that today?”

“...yes.” Hikaru sighs quietly. “I did.”

“And you’re not going to tell me about it?” Now that she thinks about it this way, Hono has to force herself not to feel a little hurt; Hikaru normally tells her everything.

Hikaru is silent for a moment, but then she responds. “Are you sure you want to know? Risa-senpai might get mad at you if she finds out that you’re friends with me and I’m trying to investigate what happened.”

Hono hesitates briefly, now understanding why Hikaru hasn’t told her anything yet. But then, she nods her head, even though that movement is invisible in the dark. “Yeah, I want to know. I don’t want to miss out on something that you’re so interested in.”

On the other side of the room, a relieved smile spreads on Hikaru’s lips. “Okay then. I promise you won’t have to actively get involved in what we’re doing… as long as you just listen to me, it should be fine, right?” And thus, she recounts for Hono what Yui told her, and how she feels about it.

“That’s bad,” Hono mutters to herself when her roommate finishes, frowning into the darkness. “This school really seems kind of dangerous.”

Hikaru remains silent before she speaks up again. “To be honest, I don’t think we’re in any sort of danger.”

“You say that now, but what if someone else gets pushed off the roof? What if it’s one of us?”

“Ten said something like that too.” She did not, she was more worried about being kicked out of the school, but she had a similar train of thought. Hikaru clears her throat. “I told the others I’d take responsibility.”

Hono sighs heavily and closes her eyes in resignation. “Maybe I should take responsibility too, for not stopping you.”

“You’re making it sound like someone’s going to die because of me.”

“That Hirate person almost died because of… well, we don’t know the reason for sure, I suppose,” the taller girl finishes a bit lamely. “I just don’t want you to end up the same way. Or anyone else from our group of friends.”

“I know. It won’t happen, I’m sure. That’s why Kobayashi-senpai is helping us out; she knows her way around the school already, and she knows which questions we can afford to ask and which ones might be too dangerous.”

Silence hangs in the room. Finally, Hono nods, even though her movement goes unnoticed in the darkness. “Okay. Good night, Hii-chan.”

“...good night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Here](https://twitter.com/_satoshioris/status/1332986121731575808) is a thread on Twitter where I talk about my thoughts about this AU and where I'll post updates!
> 
> The warnings in the tags don't apply to all chapters; when they apply, it will be mentioned in an author's note.


	6. 04

Karin is still surprised that there are unused classrooms in a school like this. One would assume that an elite private school like Sakurazaka Gakuen would be tailored perfectly to the number of students that can fit into the bedrooms on the first, second, and third floor, but no; so far, Karin has found a couple of unused rooms on the ground floor.

She is on one of her exploration tours right now, having decided to skip their maths class. This morning during breakfast, Hikaru told them about her conversation with Kobayashi Yui, and what she heard there has not left Karin’s mind just yet, causing her to decide that she needs some time to herself.

The short-haired girl makes her way to what seems to be an unused classroom and turns the door handle, a little surprised to actually find the door swinging open. The sun is shining into the room at an angle that makes everything shimmer golden; it looks oddly beautiful, considering that this is just a boring classroom with almost no chairs and desks for the students.

Karin pushes three of the few desks that are there together near the windows, and she lies down on top of her little row of desks, curling up a little. It’s not the most comfortable, but it will work for a short nap, and she doesn’t want to look for a different spot because she likes the lighting in this room.

She is lying there and staring at the window, waiting for sleep to take over, when she hears the door opening. Her mind starts to race and she tries to come up with an explanation for her skipping that will convince whatever teacher just came in - but when she turns around, she realizes that it’s just her classmate Seki who came in and looks at her with a surprised expression.

“Karin?” Seki asks, a hint of confusion in her voice. “What are you doing here?”

“...this is my spot, I’m sleeping here, so can you go away?” Maybe Karin’s voice sounds a little hostile, but she’s really not in the mood to talk to anyone right now.

Seki’s eyebrows furrow slightly, but instead of complying with her classmate’s request, she walks over towards the window. “The lighting here is pretty… can’t we just be here together for a while? Don’t worry, I won’t bother you.”

Karin presses her lips together and sits up; she definitely does not want to sleep in front of someone else. Having to share a room with Riko is already bad enough, so she actually wanted to sleep in peace for a while here. “Fine.” They’re both part of the same circle around Matsuda after all, so she feels like she can’t just kick Seki out of the room.

The slightly taller girl smiles, seeming a little relieved. “Thank you.” She leans forward onto the window sill, sighing quietly. “I know I promised not to bother you, but what do you think about what Hikaru told us?”

Karin remains silent, thinking for a while. “I don’t know,” she finally says. “It was… a lot, right?”

Seki nods slightly. “Hikaru seems like she’s convinced that we won’t get in trouble, but I’m a little worried. Hono looked worried, too.”

“We don’t have to get involved in it.”

“But aren’t we already involved? You are the one who found out about Kobayashi-senpai in the first place, and Ten and I arranged the meeting with her. We’re not asking as many questions as Hikaru is, but I feel like… we’ve contributed quite a bit already.”

A heavy, almost uncomfortable silence hangs in the room, until Karin breaks it. “That’s why I came here. Because I needed some time to think about all of it. There’s no room in my head for maths right now.”

A small chuckle escapes Seki’s lips in reaction to that way of phrasing it. “Me too, honestly.”

They go silent again, though it feels a little more comfortable this time. Like they have something in common. Even though she’s sitting up now, Karin feels her eyes slowly falling closed, her mental fatigue apparently getting the better of her now.

When she wakes up again, Karin finds her back aching, the room empty, and a small piece of paper lying on the window sill. 

_ I went to get us something to drink _ , in Seki’s neat, tidy handwriting. Karin sighs, a hint of a smile on her lips. She hasn’t talked to Seki  _ that _ much until now, but the other girl certainly doesn’t seem to be a bad person.

Seki returns a short time later, carrying two small bottles of water. “Ah, you’re awake,” she notes with a soft smile on her lips. “Here.”

“...thanks.” Karin nods slightly and accepts the bottle of water, immediately turning the cap to take a sip from it.

The two of them sit there in a more comfortable silence now, drinking from their water bottles without engaging in any conversation. Karin comes to realize that Seki’s presence doesn’t bother her nearly as much as she originally thought it would; Seki is a quiet girl as well, and she seems to be rather kind and not invasive at all.

And then, the door to the room flies open, causing the both of them to flinch slightly as they turn around. “Marina-chan?” Seki is the first one to speak up.

Next to her, Karin relaxes slightly when she realizes that it’s just their friend, but Matsuda’s eyebrows are furrowed slightly.

“The teacher sent me to look for you,” she explains with a sigh, apparently relieved because she finally found her friends. “It took me fifteen minutes.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Seki sounds like she actually means it, whereas Karin’s muttered ‘sorry’ sounds a lot less genuine. “We’ll… come back to class with you then.”

Matsuda raises an eyebrow as she looks at Karin. “Will you?”

The younger girl shrugs slightly; she doesn’t seem to have much of a choice. “I guess so.” She slides off the table that she was sitting on and slowly walks over towards Matsuda when Seki’s hand on her back gently urges her to do so.

Their classmate lets out another sigh. “Why were you here? Don’t worry, I won’t tell the teacher if you don’t want me to.”

Karin stares at Seki for a moment, but then gives in. “Hikaru.”

“Hikaru?”

“I was thinking about what she told us this morning.”

“Oh.” Matsuda nods in understanding, her frown slowly dissipating. “Well, I understand that. It was a lot.”

Seki smiles weakly. “We said that, too.”

“I’d love to tell you that there’s probably nothing to worry about, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.” Matsuda leads the way out of the classroom, her voice lowering into a quieter tone as they step into the hallway. “Well… I suppose for the time being all we can do is to keep an eye on her so she doesn’t get into anything dangerous.”

They stop in front of the classroom, and Matsuda gives her friends a serious glance. “All of us should keep our eyes and ears open. But… unless Hikaru needs us to, I don’t think we should pry too much.”

“Yeah,” Karin agrees quietly, and Seki nods in agreement.

A small smile appears on Matsuda’s face, breaking up her serious expression. “Good. Thank you.” With that, she knocks at the door to the classroom and opens it to step inside.

* * *

Akane’s lips are soft against Yuuka’s and the President can’t help but sigh softly into the kiss. They haven’t had much time to themselves lately, so when Yuuka realized that they are alone in the Student Council room right now, she could not restrain herself and walked over to her girlfriend’s desk, pulling the younger girl into a kiss without a warning.

When they move apart in order to breathe, Akane raises an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in her eyes. “What was that for?”

“I don’t know, I just… needed it.” A blush spreads on Yuuka’s cheeks and she averts her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“You know you never have to apologize for something like this.” Akane places her hand on the back of Yuuka’s neck, applying gentle pressure to pull the other girl closer again, but in exactly that moment, someone knocks at the door.

Disappointment takes over Yuuka’s expression and she quickly steps away from her girlfriend. Akane lets out a sigh, but then raises her voice to call for the visitor to come in.

Kobayashi Yui’s eyebrows furrow slightly when she enters the room. “Oh, am I interrupting something?” - As if she can feel the slightly odd tension in the room.

“No,” Akane says, drawing the younger student’s attention to herself rather than Yuuka. “You’re not interrupting anything. What can I do for you?”

“I would like to ask you two a few questions, if that’s alright.” A few days have passed since Yui’s conversation with Hikaru, and she was finally able to make time to meet Yuuka and Akane today.

The two older girls exchange a quick glance, Yuuka’s eyes showing a hint of nervousness and discomfort. The fact that Yui wants to talk to  _ both _ of them implies that this is not going to be a comfortable conversation between a second-year student and her seniors.

Akane realizes that as well, and she frowns ever so slightly as she responds. “That depends on what kind of questions you have.”

Yui pauses briefly, glancing back at the door which she made sure to close only moments ago. “It’s about Hirate-san-”

“Then no.” Akane’s reply comes fast and in a sharp tone. She doesn’t even give Yuuka the time to react to Yui’s words. “You can ask about anything you want, just not about her.” Her and Yuuka made an agreement; no matter what, the circumstances under which Hirate Yurina left the school will not be clarified to anyone outside the Student Council.

The younger student falls silent, but then she smiles wryly. “I thought so. In that case, I have a question about Manaka-san.”

“Only if you don’t end up coming back to Hirate.” Akane’s voice is still sharp. In her peripheral vision, she can see how Yuuka stops just in front of her own desk and remains standing there, her hands clenched to fists and her body tense.

“Don’t worry, it doesn’t have anything to do with Hirate-san.” Yui clears her throat. “Risa didn’t tell me much about her, other than the fact that she used to date her, so I’m curious.”

Akane raised an eyebrow. “I wonder… would that be because you’re interested in dating Risa?”

Yui’s eyes widen in shock. “What? Not at all. Why would I want to date her?”

The Vice President looks like she doesn’t quite believe that, but she also does not question it. “Alright then. Well, there’s not much we can tell you either. Manaka was one of our friends, but she was a student in this school like any other. Like all of us were at that time.”

“All of you… may I ask why she left? Risa told me once that she left with Hirate-san, that they needed each other, but…” Yui trails off, fully aware that she is steering the conversation in a direction that Akane has told her to avoid only minutes ago.

Akane’s eyes rest on Yui for a while; then she turns around and walks over to the window. “Manaka left because Yurina needed her. That’s all there is to it. You don’t need to wrack your brain over it.”

Yui lets out a heavy sigh and nods. “Alright.”

“Risa is very loyal, by the way; I’m sure you’ve already figured that out,” Akane changes the topic, causing both Yuuka and Yui to look at her in surprise.

“Uh… what?”

“She loves Manaka. A lot. But… from what I’ve seen, she likes you a lot, too.” A momentary silence falls over the room and the Vice President exchanges a quick glance with the President. Then, Akane continues, “You’d have to do something very bad to lose her trust once she likes you this much.”

“Something like…?”

_ Something like pushing Hirate Yurina off the roof. _

The sentence hangs in the air unspoken, and Yui can tell that both Akane and Yuuka must be thinking exactly that based on their dark expressions.

Then, Akane puts on a smile so bright that it’s obviously fake. “I apologize, but we have work to do, so please leave if you don’t need anything else.”

“Wait! I’ll leave in a second, just…” A hint of guilt coils itself into the pit of Yui’s stomach now; Hikaru’s research has been completely abandoned at this point. “Do you think Risa can ever love someone other than Manaka-san?”

Akane’s eyes linger on Yui for a while. “I think that’s something you have to find out for yourself. I don’t know why either of us should know if she can.”

“You… have a point there.” Yui sighs, all her tension suddenly evaporating into nothing. “I apologize for bothering you.” She clears her throat awkwardly and turns around to head back to the door.

The President and Vice President watch her back in silence. “Kobayashi-chan,” Yuuka suddenly speaks up, her voice gentle. 

“Yes?”

“Please take good care of Risa. She used to be friends with us after all, and it’s sad that things ended this way.”

“She… used to be friends with you?” Yui raises an eyebrow in surprise; this information is new to her. “She never told me…”

Yuuka smiles sadly. “I think she’s still angry at herself for trusting me so much back then, so I suppose it makes sense that she doesn’t like to think about it much.”

Yui perks up ever so slightly. “The way you’re saying that… does that mean-”

“Didn’t you say you were leaving?” Akane interrupts her, a frown on her face. She doesn’t seem too happy with the fact that Yuuka started this conversation now.

This makes Yui deflate ever so slightly. “I… right. I’ll leave now. Goodbye,” she sighs, this time heading towards the door and leaving the room without looking back again.

Akane lets out a heavy breath, the tension in the room slowly subsiding. “Why did you say that, Yuuka? Now you just made her more curious…”

Yuuka smiles weakly, apologetic. “I know. I’m sorry. But… it needed to be said, I think. Kobayashi-chan… she deserves an explanation, don’t you think?”

“Yes, but you’re the one who asked me to keep everything a secret… so please don’t break your own rules, alright?” Akane gives her girlfriend a wry smile.

“Okay.” Yuuka pauses for a moment and then slowly walks back towards the Vice President, smiling shyly. “Can we… continue where we left off when Kobayashi-chan interrupted us?”

Akane raises an eyebrow. “Don’t we have papers to fill in?”

“Yes, but I need a break.” Yuuka rarely admits this; usually, she pushes herself too hard until she becomes too exhausted to go on. But this time, her desire to be close to Akane wins over her sense of duty for once.

“You do,” Akane agrees, stepping closer to her girlfriend and pulling her into a tight hug. “Come here then.”

* * *

Aoi can tell that something is wrong immediately when Risa steps into their shared room and throws the bag that contains her sportswear in the vague direction of her desk. “Risa?” she asks in surprise, her eyes widening a little as she looks up from the homework she was working on. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Risa grumbles, sounding exhausted. She collapses on her bed and lies back, staring up at the ceiling. Today more than ever, she feels like the reality of Aoi not being Manaka punched her in the face harshly.

The younger girl sighs and puts down her pen. “Something is wrong,” she retaliates, her voice soft. “You look exhausted… but it’s not just that.”

“You don’t need to know.”

Aoi’s heart clenches a little. Risa has always been like that, ever since she moved into this room; never opening up to her completely. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.”

“Who said I want your help?”

So it is one of  _ those _ days. One of the days on which Risa’s mind is too caught up in remembering the past to notice that the present needs her attention more.

Knowing that she won’t get any work done like this anyways, Aoi closes the book she was reading and pushes herself and her chair back from the desk. “Come on, Risa, don’t make this so hard for both of us.”

“I’m not making it hard, you’re just being nosy.”

Aoi’s eyebrows furrow. “Okay.” She gets up, leaving her homework behind. “You don’t want me here, so I’ll leave.”

Risa doesn’t protest, but when Aoi opens the door of their room, she suddenly speaks up. “Wait.”

Aoi does so without even thinking about it, her hand resting on the door handle. “What?”

“Have you been talking to Yui lately?”

Slowly, the younger girl turns around and raises an eyebrow. “We sit next to each other in most of our classes, so yes.”

“Do you know her new friends?”

“She has new friends?”

Risa’s eyes, which were previously closed, open. “You didn’t know?”

Aoi rolls her eyes. “We’re friends, but we’re not each other’s  _ only _ friends. She can have other friends, can’t she?”

“Not if they’re in the Student Council.”

She feels her hands twitch slightly, remembering the conversation in which Yui told her that she was going to talk to Yuuka and Akane. “I-is that so?” Aoi asks, forcing herself to stay calm. “Has she… been talking to them?”

Risa remains silent for a while that feels like it’s dragging on much too long. “I don’t know, has she?”

“What do you mean?”

“She hasn’t been looking at me much lately, and neither are you right now.” Risa sits up, her eyes fixated on Aoi now. “What’s wrong, Aoi?”

“N-nothing-”

“You’re a bad liar.” Risa’s eyes narrow. “So Yui  _ has _ been talking to them. Do you know why?”

Aoi shakes her head rapidly. Of course she knows why, Yui told her, but Risa is already in such a bad mood and telling her the truth will not make things any better. At the same time, continuing to lie will not make anything better, either.

Risa’s eyes are still fixated on her roommate’s face. “Aoi,” she says slowly. “Why has Yui been talking to them?”

And the barrier that Aoi built in her mind breaks down. “She said she wanted to help you come to terms with the past,” she mutters quietly, a feeling of guilt causing her hands to clench to fists. “She… wanted to hear their side of Hirate-san’s story.”

Silence falls over them. Risa is the one who breaks it, her voice oddly calm - so calm that it almost scares Aoi a little. “Okay. See, that wasn’t so hard, right?”

“Don’t be mad at her-”

“If you want to side with them too, go and ask them to move you to a different room.” Risa’s voice still sounds light and calm, but her facial expression makes it clear that this is not as easy for her as she pretends.

Aoi shakes her head and sighs, walking back towards the bed to pat Risa’s shoulder. “No, I’ll stay with you.” Anything else is out of the question; she wants Risa to make better memories of this school, after all.

“You don't have to say that just because you don’t want to make me mad.”

“That’s not why I said it, Risa.” Aoi gives her roommate a sad smile.

Risa lets out a heavy sigh and rubs her forehead. “In that case… thank you,” she mutters under her breath, looking a little embarrassed.

“And don’t worry. Yui isn’t doing this because she hates you or anything. She wants you to make more happy memories in this school.”

“She doesn’t need to talk to the Student Council for that.” Risa’s voice sounds bitter and almost a little sad now. “She’d make me much happier if she didn’t talk to them.”

Aoi nods, sighing quietly. This is exactly what she tried to tell Yui, and what Yui doesn’t want to believe and accept. “I know. Maybe… give her some time? She might lose interest soon if Sugai-san doesn’t tell her anything.” She doesn’t receive an immediate reply, but Risa seems to relax ever so slightly.

“You… might have a point there.” Risa smiles wryly. It seems like she wants to say more, but she doesn’t, instead closing her eyes for a few moments.

The two of them remain silent for a while, until Aoi clears her throat. “Well, you wanted me to leave, so I’m gonna go.”

“...no, wait.” Risa’s voice is quiet and she sounds almost shy now. “Don’t go yet.”

“What is it?”

“I was mean to you.”

“Yes, you were.” The words come out a bit clipped, and Aoi’s eyebrows furrow ever so slightly. She always tries to take Risa for who she is and to accept her behavior, but every once in a while, it becomes a little too much.

Risa pauses for a moment, but then she speaks up before Aoi can say anything else. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” Aoi’s eyes widen a little. She doesn’t remember Risa ever apologizing for anything she has ever said to her or Yui. “For… being mean to me?”

The older girl frowns, suddenly seeming a little irritated. “Would you prefer it if I wasn’t?”

Aoi exhales a long breath and shakes her head quickly. “No, that’s not what I mean. I was just surprised… but I’m happy. Thank you. It’s… it’s okay.”

The smallest of smiles spreads on Risa’s lips as well. “Good.”

* * *

Hono barges into the room that Matsuda, Takemoto, and Inoue share with an irritated expression. “Where is my bag?”

Matsuda looks up from the book she is reading, her eyes wandering towards Takemoto and Inoue. She doesn’t know anything about what they may have done to Hono’s bag, whatever bag their friend is talking about.

Takemoto and Inoue exchange an amused glance before the younger of the two girls speak up. “What are you talking about?”

A sigh leaves Matsuda’s lips. “Tell her,” she reprimands her roommates in slight exasperation. “I don’t know what you two did this time, but apparently it wasn’t anything good.”

Inoue is the one who gets up and walks over to her wardrobe, taking out a plain black sports bag. Hono immediately snatches it from her hand and spins on her heels, storming out of the room.

Upon seeing this, Takemoto giggles, raising her hand to high-five Inoue. This causes Matsuda’s eyebrows to furrow slightly. “What does that mean?”

Inoue opens her wardrobe once again, taking out what Matsuda recognizes as Hono’s gym clothes and shoes. “We got her some new fancy gym clothes-”

“Which I’m sure she’ll get laughed at for by her teammates, knowing you two,” Matsuda groans. “Let me take these, I’ll give them to her.”

“Hey, they’re really cool though-” Takemoto calls after her, but Matsuda is already halfway out of the room, Hono’s gym clothes in her hand.

She runs down the hallway, clicking her tongue when she cannot find her friend anywhere; apparently, Hono was already late for her practice when she came to their room. Finally, Matsuda sees her hurrying down the stairs and pauses for a moment, catching her breath to raise her voice, “Hono, wait!”

Hono looks back in irritation, her eyebrows furrowed. “What do you want now? I’m already late for practice because of those two…”

Matsuda runs down the stairs to catch up with her, offering the plain, dark blue and black gym clothes and shoes to her classmate. “Here. They said they got you some ‘fancy new gym clothes,’” she raises her hands to form quotation marks in the air, “but I figured you’d prefer these.”

Hono’s eyes go wide and she pulls open the zipper of her bag, groaning when she finds a neon pink t-shirt and bright yellow pants inside. “Those two…! Thanks, Marina, I owe you one.” She puts her own gym clothes into her bag and turns around, jogging down the hallway in an attempt to get to the gym faster.

The younger girl watches her disappear around a corner and lets out a sigh, relaxing a little now. She knows Takemoto and Inoue didn’t mean to actually hurt Hono in any way - they have been roommates for a while now and Matsuda understands that they usually just want to have some fun. This is the reason why she normally doesn’t stop them when they are planning pranks; but this time, Hono already seemed frustrated enough even without the added stress of being laughed at by her teammates.

Matsuda turns around and slowly starts to walk back towards her room, but as she walks past a window in the hallway on the first floor, she stops in her tracks for a moment.

This hallway is located at the front of the school building, overlooking the path that leads from the entrance of the building to the large gate that is situated in the wall that surrounds the school grounds. That gate, Matsuda has quickly learned, is locked most of the time because the students are not allowed to leave the school; but now, someone is walking down the path towards the gate.

Narrowing her eyes, Matsuda leans closer to the window in an attempt to figure out who the person is. The angle and the fact that she can only see the girl’s back only make this harder, and for a moment, Matsuda thinks to herself that everyone should already know that the gate is always locked and that it is impossible to leave the school this way.

And yet, the person, who is not wearing a school uniform but rather pants and a simple shirt, stands in front of the gate for a moment and then pushes it open, slipping through the opening before she closes and locks the gate again. As she turns around to lock the gate, the girl looks up and Matsuda instinctively takes a step back from the window, suddenly afraid that someone might get mad at her for watching the girl leave.

The girl’s behavior does not show in any way whether or not she actually saw Matsuda, and she turns around to get into a limousine that must have been waiting for her in front of the gate. The limousine drives off, and Matsuda lets out a long breath that she hadn’t realized she was holding.

A few moments later, another girl rushes down the path and slips through the gate, even though it should have been locked again, hurrying down the sidewalk in the same direction as the limousine.

For a few moments, Matsuda stands in the hallway in silence, relieved about the fact that most other students are in their club meetings right now, so nobody can question why she is standing in the hallway all alone. And then, a realization hits her.

When she turned around to lock the gate, Matsuda had an opportunity to see the first girl’s face. She resembled Sugai Yuuka, the Student Council President.

“Why is she allowed to go out? And who is that other girl...” Matsuda mumbles to herself, starting to head back to her room. Obviously, if the first person really was Yuuka, it makes sense that she would have special rights in comparison to the other students since she is the headmaster’s daughter, but the whole situation still makes Matsuda wonder. She is still lost in her thoughts when she steps back into her room, and finds her roommates sitting on their respective beds, playing a game on their consoles.

Takemoto looks up in surprise when the door falls closed, but no greeting comes from Matsuda. “What’s wrong? Are you mad at us for what we did to Hono? It wasn’t-”

“What? Oh, that’s not what I’m thinking about,” Matsuda perks up a little, putting on a small smile as she shakes her head. “This is about… something different.”

“Something different? Tell us.” Inoue actually puts her console down, leaning forward curiously.

For a moment, Matsuda hesitates, but then she gives in with a nod as she sits down on her own bed. “Alright. I gave Hono her gym clothes, and when I was coming back here, I saw someone leaving the school.”

“What, seriously? That’s impossible,” Takemoto blurts out, her surprise corroborated by an affirmative nod from Inoue. “We’re not allowed to leave the school, nobody is.”

“Well, she looked in my direction for a moment, and I think it may have been Sugai-san. I’m not sure, though, because she was at the gate and I was on the first floor.”

The curiosity that has been hanging in the air dissipates almost instantly. “And here I thought something actually interesting happened,” Takemoto mutters, pouting a little as she picks her console back up. “It’s obvious that Sugai-san has more rights in this school than we do, it’s no surprise that she’s allowed to leave, right?”

“That’s right, but…” Matsuda lets out a soft sigh and lies back on her mattress, stretching her arms. “I wonder why she went out.”

“Don’t wrack your brain over it, there’s probably no deep reason behind it. She might just have gone shopping.”

On the third bed in the room, Inoue shrugs helplessly, giving her oldest roommate a weak smile. “It did sound interesting, but if it was really Sugai-san, then Yui’s probably right.”

Matsuda nods in silence; they are right, of course. She doesn’t want to force a conversation about this topic, so she decides to ask Hikaru if she knows anything about Sugai Yuuka later.

The opportunity to bring up that topic in the presence of someone who likely knows more about the President comes much sooner than Matsuda had originally anticipated. When they gather for dinner that day, Hikaru brings along a girl whose necktie identifies her as a second-year student. “This is Kobayashi Yui-senpai,” the shorter girl introduces their senpai to her friends. “She agreed to help us out with… well. You know with what.”

Matsuda’s eyebrows rise at that. “Kobayashi-senpai?”

Yui turns around to her, mildly surprised. “Yes? It’s nice to meet all of you, but I have to get going, Risa is waiting for me.”

“I just have a question, it won’t take long.” Matsuda looks around quickly, not sure if what she saw was something that everyone else already knows about. “I was wondering… does Sugai-san leave the school often?”

Yui’s eyebrows rise slowly, but then she seems to realize something, and her expression relaxes. “Oh. I think she takes horse riding classes or something like that. She can’t take those in here, obviously, right?”

“Ah… I see.” For a moment, Matsuda doesn’t know if she should feel relieved or disappointed. Likely, it is better this way than any other way though, because it means that Yuuka is not doing anything dangerous outside of the school. “Thank you. I didn’t know that, but I saw her leave today, so I was wondering about it.”

The older student nods, smiling a little. “I’m not entirely sure about it, but I don’t think she does anything weird when she leaves-”

“When who leaves?” A voice interrupts them, and Hono’s eyes go wide.

“Risa-san?”

“I’m just here to pick Yui up.” Risa places her hand on Yui’s shoulder, squeezing it slightly. “Are you done here?”

Yui gives the first-year students a questioning glance, but none of them speaks up because Risa is there now. “Yeah, I think I’m done,” she then confirms with a soft smile. “Bye, it was nice to meet you.”

The other girls mutter a collective “bye” as Risa gives them a brief nod and then guides Yui away from them. Instantly, the atmosphere becomes more relaxed and comfortable; everyone feels relieved when Risa disappears into the crowd of students that is heading into the dining hall.

“What was that about? That question you asked Kobayashi-senpai,” Hikaru asks Matsuda curiously while they are also heading towards their table.

“Oh, I saw someone leaving the school today. It was probably Sugai-senpai, I just wanted to get confirmation of that.” Hikaru’s eyes widen and she starts to take out the small notepad she apparently always carries with her now, but Matsuda smiles weakly. “Don’t bother, apparently she just takes riding classes. That must be part of the special privileges that being the headmaster’s daughter brings her.”

But then, Matsuda remembers that another girl followed Yuuka out of the school. Her eyes wander around the dining hall and land on Moriya Akane, the Student Council Vice President. Her hair looks oddly similar to that of the second girl who Matsuda caught a glimpse of earlier, but she decides not to come to any premature conclusions.

“No, that couldn’t be… right?”

“Huh?” Hikaru turns around to look at her in surprise, and Matsuda quickly shakes her head.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” She hadn’t even realized that she had said those words out loud. Matsuda puts on a reassuring smile, but her thoughts are very much still focused on Yuuka and Akane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Here](https://twitter.com/_satoshioris/status/1332986121731575808) is a thread on Twitter where I talk about my thoughts about this AU and where I'll post updates!
> 
> The warnings in the tags don't apply to all chapters; when they apply, it will be mentioned in an author's note.


	7. 05

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a Christmas present of sorts for [Cie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ciezuru/).

“You should go back to the others,” Yuuka says, smiling in embarrassment when Akane reaches out and gently tugs on her jacket to adjust it. “Akane…”

“Good luck, Yuuka,” Akane grins and leans in, pressing a brief kiss to her girlfriend’s lips.

Yuuka’s cheeks redden and she looks around, hoping that nobody saw them together. “Akane! You can’t kiss me in public!” she whispers, a little shocked.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Akane doesn’t sound sorry at all, but she does give her girlfriend a slightly apologetic smile as she squeezes her hand reassuringly. “Fine, I’ll go back to the others. You can win this, Yuuka. Let’s celebrate later, okay?”

The President still looks embarrassed, but she nods and then heads over towards her horse.

Akane returns to their friends, the other Student Council members - excluding Minami who is only in her second year - who are waiting for the tournament to start. All the third-year students have been invited to come watch the show jumping event that the Student Council President has signed up for, the last such event before the winter break starts. Akane doesn’t know why they are suddenly allowed to leave the school for this because they usually have to stay within the school grounds at all times, but it only makes her all the more happy that she finally officially gets to watch her girlfriend do what she loves.

She sits in the chair between Habu and Fuyuka and leans forward, expectantly watching the track. Some other riders are already entering the area that they have to wait for their turn in, and Akane finally finds Yuuka there as well, sitting on her horse’s back as if that is where she belongs.

The tournament starts and the first rider guides his horse to the start of the track. They jump most of the hurdles with ease, only missing one or two; but Akane, who does not know much about horse-riding other than the few things she occasionally hears and sees from Yuuka, thinks to herself that she is sure Yuuka can do even better.

Yuuka’s turn comes about soon and her friends cheer for her, with Akane waving her hands in the hopes of showing her girlfriend where they are seated. Yuuka even smiles at her and then pulls at the reins to turn her horse around towards the track.

She urges the horse into a gallop and they jump the first few hurdles with an ease and elegance that still impresses Akane every time she sees it - which is not very often, but does happen once every few months. Something, however, starts to look strange when the horse’s rhythm of running seems to change.

The horse jumps over one of the last hurdles, but when it lands, one of its front hooves slips. A collective gasp comes from the audience’s stands, everyone watches in shock as the horse and Yuuka fall together. During the fall, Yuuka’s helmet is knocked off her head when she hits her head against the ground, and the horse lands half on top of her, keeping her pinned to the ground until it desperately tries to get up and run away.

Akane is the first one out of the entire audience to jump to her feet, screaming Yuuka’s name when her girlfriend falls together with the horse, and she slips out of the grip of Fuyuka who tries to hold her back. Worry clouding her mind, Akane races down from the stands. She hears a teacher calling her name, but she ignores them and makes her way onto the track.

A crowd is quickly forming on the track; paramedics come running towards Yuuka to check on her, someone from the tournament staff takes out his phone to call an ambulance, and some of the people who are sat at the front of the stands try to get close to Yuuka either out of curiosity or concern.

Amidst the chaos, Akane tries to make her way through the crowd, pushing people in front of her aside without even worrying about being rude. “Let me see her!” she yells, ignoring the fact that few people actually understand what she means as she continues, “I’m the Vice President, I need to see if she’s okay!”

Finally, the crowd parts and a staff member steps aside, allowing Akane to finally look at Yuuka. The President lies on the ground, trying to sit up while an EMT has her hands on Yuuka’s temples, trying to keep her head still. “Sugai-san, you need to calm down-”

“But Wolfram… where is he, is he alright?” Yuuka’s voice trembles and she looks disoriented, her eyes darting around until they find Akane. “Akane… tell me, where did they take Wolfram? Is he hurt?”

“Shut up!” Akane blurts out, falling to her knees next to the older girl. “If the paramedics say you need to rest, then you need to rest!”

“But…” Yuuka is still trying to resist, but this time, when she tries to sit up once more, she winces and whimpers in pain. “Ouch…”

Akane turns her head, her eyes widening when she sees the unnatural angle Yuuka’s right leg is bent at. “Y-Yuuka, your leg…”

“We’re going to have to straighten your leg before the ambulance comes, Sugai-san,” one of the EMTs speaks up, looking at the girl’s face for approval.

Yuuka lets out a shaky breath. She is still pale and seems rattled, her hands moving around on the ground as if she was searching for something to hold onto.

Akane slips her hand under Yuuka’s, wanting to reassure her. “It’ll be okay,” she whispers, and nods thankfully towards an EMT who comes over with an IV and carefully connects it to Yuuka’s wrist. The painkilling medication seems to kick in soon, causing Yuuka to calm down a little as the pain seems to subside for the time being.

Despite that, Akane winces slightly when Yuuka screams and her fingernails dig into Akane’s hand as the EMTs set her leg straight, apparently still feeling part of the pain despite the medication.

Yuuka is breathing heavily now and Akane kisses her forehead, whispering nonsense into her ear in an attempt to just calm her girlfriend down. She barely even notices how people come and go around them, only focusing on her injured girlfriend.

Eventually, a paramedic comes up to them and asks Akane to step aside so they can lift Yuuka onto their stretcher and take her to the ambulance.

“Akane?” Yuuka asks, her voice trembling again - or still? “You’re not leaving, are you?”

“No, I’m not,” Akane promises, eyes fixated on her girlfriend’s face even as she steps back. “I just have to let the paramedics do their thing, alright?”

Yuuka gasps and whimpers as they lift her onto the stretcher, once again moving her injured leg in the process. “Come with me, Akane…”

Akane moves to follow her, but as she wants to get into the ambulance, a paramedic steps in front of her. “I apologize, but we cannot take you to the hospital with us. There is not enough room in the ambulance.”

“But she needs me…” Akane’s eyes dart towards Yuuka who is already in the car, once again trying to sit up despite her aching head and leg.

The paramedic sighs and shakes his head softly. “You might be able to visit her in the hospital,” he says sympathetically. “But we can’t take you with us right now.”

The doors of the ambulance close right in front of Akane’s face and the car drives off, leaving her stunned for a few seconds.

“Akane!” That is Fuyuka’s voice; their friends are finally making their way through the crowd and towards Akane. “Akane, are you okay? How is Yuuka?”

“I’m taking a taxi,” Akane declares, already marching towards the exit of the arena where a phone booth is located.

“What?”

“To the hospital. They wouldn’t take me in the ambulance, so I’m taking a taxi.”

Fuyuka and Habu glance at each other for a moment. “We’re coming too,” Habu says while Fuyuka nods in agreement.

Thus, the three of them impatiently sit in the taxi as the driver takes them to the nearest hospital. When they get out of the car, Akane drops a few bills on the passenger seat without counting them and yells “Keep the change!” while she already rushes towards the entrance of the hospital.

The receptionist frowns slightly when Akane marches straight towards her. “How can I help you-”

“I need to see Sugai Yuuka,” Akane interrupts her, slamming her hands down on the counter. “Where is she?”

The reception sighs and shakes her head. “Are you a relative of hers?”

“I’m not, but-”

“Then I’m afraid I’m not allowed to tell you.”

“You have to! An ambulance took her here, I need to know how she’s doing!” Furious, Akane wants to grab the receptionist by her collar, but Fuyuka pulls her back just in time.

“I apologize for her behavior, we’ll wait until Sugai-san’s parents come,” she tells the receptionist gently before dragging Akane towards the waiting area together with Habu. “Akane, you need to wait for her parents. The nurses won’t let you see Yuuka no matter what you say because you’re not family.”

Akane groans in frustration and buries her face in her hands. “But she needs me! She asked me not to leave her, but now she’s all alone!”

Fuyuka sighs, looking at Habu in slight discomfort. “Yeah, but maybe they already took her to an OR. In that case you wouldn’t be able to see her now anyways.”

So they sit and wait impatiently, until they see Yuuka’s parents enter the hospital. Akane wants to jump to her feet and walk over to them, but Fuyuka still holds her back. “Wait, let’s see how they react first.”

Due to the distance, they can’t hear what the nurse says, but Yuuka’s mother seems increasingly worried with what she hears. Finally, Fuyuka lets go of Akane and the Vice President rushes over to the headmaster and his wife. “Sugai-san, what did they say about Yuuka?!”

“She’s in the OR right now, we will be allowed to visit her afterwards.” The headmaster already turns away, but Akane grabs his sleeve.

“Please take me with you, I need to see her,” she says urgently, at least remembering to say ‘please’ even though the tone of her voice isn’t as polite as it should be.

Yuuka’s father raises an eyebrow, his expression slowly turning into a frown. “Only her family is allowed to visit her. You are not her family, Moriya-san.”

“I’m the Vice President and I need to know if she’s okay-”

“She will be absolutely fine, this is the best hospital in the city. Now please return to the school, the students need to be supervised.”

Fuyuka walks up to Akane and gently puts a hand on her shoulder, trying to lead her away; to no avail - the Vice President stands firmly.

“You don’t understand!” Akane blurts out in frustration, her anger taking over control. “Yuuka needs me!”

The headmaster raises his eyebrow once again, his tone ever so slightly mocking as he asks, “And why do you think that? What are you to her?”

“I’m her fucking girlfriend!” All reason forgotten, Akane snaps at Yuuka’s father, glaring up at him furiously. “I’m her girlfriend, she begged me not to leave her alone and they took her away anyways!”

Behind her, Fuyuka and Habu sigh in exasperation and shake their heads slightly.

“Are we going to have to fix this for her?” Habu whispers to Fuyuka and the other girl nods, watching the principal’s reaction closely.

Yuuka’s father looks dead serious, his expression dark as his eyebrow twitches ever so slightly. “You will never get close to my daughter again,” he growls, turning around and starting to lead his wife down the hallway to a different waiting area.

Akane lets out a wordless cry of anger and frustration, wanting to run after him, but two pairs of hands hold her back this time, ignoring the way Akane kicks her legs and flails her arms. “Let me go!” she screams, “I need to see Yuuka!”

But Fuyuka only tightens her grip on Akane’s waist despite the bursts of pain that she feels when Akane’s feet repeatedly meet her shins. “You need to calm down, Akane. They’re not going to let you see her like this, you already messed that up.” They lead Akane back to the benches in the waiting area, gently pushing her down to sit on one of them.

As soon as she has sat down, Akane collapses, curling herself up tightly. “But she needs me,” she mutters, more to herself than to anyone else. “How can I call myself her girlfriend when I can’t even be there for her when she needs me?”

Habu sighs and pats the Vice President’s back. “She’ll forgive you,” she says softly. “Yukka is such a kind person, she won’t be mad at you.” Having been Yuuka’s friend for much longer than anyone else, both her and Fuyuka have experienced her kindness many times.

Akane lets out a heavy sigh, her exhaustion getting the better of her as she relaxes against the backrest of the bench. “Still…” she murmurs, but gives in and closes her eyes in an attempt to calm herself down for the time being.

* * *

Yuuka wakes up in a hospital room that is so white that she feels almost blinded. She feels incredibly drowsy and exhausted, and when she looks down at her own body, she finds big bandaids covering up bruises and scratches, as well as her right leg in a thick plaster cast that keeps it still.

Nobody is in the room with her, but after only a short time, a nurse comes in and gives her a smile. “It’s good to see that you’re awake. I will tell your parents that they can meet you now, then.”

Her parents are not who Yuuka wants to meet right now, but her reaction speed has suffered from the narcotics and the nurse is already back in the hallway, calling for Yuuka’s father and mother.

The three of them step back into the room, the nurse carefully checking on the machine that stands next to the bed while Yuuka’s mother rushes to her daughter’s side, taking her hand with a worried expression on her face. “Yuuka, how are you feeling? Are you in pain?”

Yuuka slowly shakes her head, finding herself unable to talk just yet. Only after her mother kisses her daughter’s forehead, words come to Yuuka’s mind. “Where… where is Akane?”

Her father’s expression darkens. “You can’t meet her.”

“W-what do you mean?” A bad feeling grows in Yuuka’s heart, and she looks at her parents warily. “I want to see her, I need her.”

“No. She’s not here.”

Yuuka’s heart clenches, fear suddenly washing over her. Did Akane abandon her? Even though she promised-

“Yuuka.” Her mother caresses Yuuka’s cheeks gently, lifting her chin up so Yuuka looks at her. “Everything will be alright, you don’t have to worry about that girl anymore. Whatever she did to you…”

“No, what does that mean?” Yuuka’s voice is trembling now; she doesn’t quite understand what happened while she was in surgery, and the fact that she still feels drowsy doesn’t make things any better. She just wants to hug her girlfriend. “Where is Akane? I want to talk to her, _please_.”

Her mother turns to look back at her husband, a sad expression on her face.

“She is not here,” the headmaster repeats, sounding annoyed now. “You will not meet her again.”

Yuuka tries to glare at him, as much as she can do that with the exhaustion that still reigns over her body and mind. “Let me see Akane, Father.”

For a moment, her father remains silent. Then he turns around without a single word and leaves the room. For a while, it is quiet in the room, with Yuuka herself refusing to speak and her mother not knowing what to say.

Finally, the door opens again and Akane rushes into the room, a worried expression on her face. “Yuuka! How are you feeling?!”

Relief washes over Yuuka and she holds out her arms, hoping that Akane will understand what she is silently asking for.

Indeed, Akane steps closer to the bed and lets Yuuka pull her into a hug, wanting to let Yuuka decide how tightly she holds her so she won’t be in pain. “Hey, I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up,” Akane whispers into her girlfriend’s ear, sounding guilty. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m tired,” Yuuka mutters, smiling weakly as she relishes the warmth of Akane’s body in her arms. “The narcotics really were pretty strong.”

“Well, that’s how it’s supposed to be, I guess.” Akane caresses Yuuka’s back. “You wouldn’t have been able to handle the surgery otherwise, right?”

A weak chuckle escapes Yuuka’s lips and she nods, closing her eyes and resting her head against Akane’s shoulder. “You have a point there.”

As her daughter cuddles up against Akane, Yuuka’s mother slowly steps away from the bed, towards her husband. “What did you do to my daughter?” she asks sharply, the question clearly directed at Akane.

“Mother… please don’t be so loud,” Yuuka whines quietly, pressing herself tighter against Akane. “In fact, can you leave us alone? I want to be with Akane right now.”

Akane runs her hand through her girlfriend’s hair and turns only her head to glare at the principal and his wife. “I didn’t do anything to her,” she responds coldly. “Maybe you should respect her wishes and leave us alone, don’t you think?”

Upon hearing that, Yuuka slowly lifts her head, confusion written all over her face. “Akane… what’s going on,” she starts, a little hesitant. “What does she mean, ‘what did you do to me?’”

“I… messed up, Yuuka.” Akane didn’t want to tell her about this now, but she doesn’t want to lie to her girlfriend either. “When your father told me I wasn’t allowed to see you, I snapped and told them that I’m your girlfriend.”

Yuuka’s tired eyes go wide with shock and she tightens her grip on Akane’s shirt, suddenly visibly afraid of losing her. “No,” she mumbles, shaking her head and wincing when that makes her feel a little dizzy. “They can’t take you away from me, not now…”

Akane wants to promise that she’ll stay by Yuuka’s side no matter what, but she doesn’t think that would be such a wise thing to do right in front of her girlfriend’s parents.

A nurse knocks at the door and peeks inside, seemingly having been alerted by one of the machines that Yuuka’s heart rate just grew oddly fast. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave Sugai-san alone for now,” she says softly, apparently noticing the strange atmosphere in the room. “It seems like you’re putting too much stress on her, considering that she just woke up from her narcosis.”

Yuuka shakes her head, still holding onto Akane’s shirt tightly. “Don’t go, please.” Her eyes dart over to the nurse, a pleading expression on her bruised face. “Don’t make Akane leave, I want her to stay.”

The nurse looks doubtful, especially because of the strict glares Yuuka’s parents are giving her. “I’m afraid _everyone_ will have to leave. She can come back and visit you tomorrow, Sugai-san. For now, you need to rest.”

Akane whispers into Yuuka’s ear that she’ll find a way to come back on the next day, that everything will be fine, that she won’t let the headmaster destroy their relationship. “I’m gonna come back, okay? Definitely.”

“But…”

The nurse comes over and gently puts her hands on Akane’s shoulders, starting to pull the girl out of Yuuka’s grasp. Yuuka’s hands drop onto her blanket weakly and she seems to deflate when Akane reluctantly moves towards the door.

Yuuka’s parents say nothing as Akane walks past them into the hallway, and then Habu and Fuyuka rush to her side worriedly. “How is she doing?” Habu asks, clearly concerned about her longtime best friend.

Akane sighs and shakes her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts; there is no point in throwing another tantrum now. “She doesn’t seem to be in any pain, but she’s hooked up on some heavy-duty painkillers, so that must be why. She just woke up from her narcosis, so she’s pretty tired… and she really wanted me to stay with her, but the nurse kicked all of us out of the room because we were apparently upsetting Yuuka too much.” She clicks her tongue in annoyance.

Fuyuka’s eyebrows furrow slightly. “What happened in there? I was surprised the headmaster allowed you to see her at all.”

“I guess she kept asking for me or something.” Akane shrugs slightly; she was surprised as well, but the relief of being allowed to see her girlfriend outweighed the confusion. “But her father said she wasn’t allowed to see me anymore, and that made her upset.”

“Well… there are probably other things she’d rather have heard first thing after waking up,” Fuyuka sighs and nods in agreement. “Listen, Akane. Habu-chan and I, and probably Minami too, we’re going to try to fix this mess for you, but I’m not sure we can actually do it. You might be kicked out of the school for dating Yuuka, you’re aware of that, right?”

Akane groans and rubs her forehead, feeling frustrated once again. “Of course I’m aware of that. It’s why Yuuka always refuses to even let me hold her hand in public, and now I went and messed it all up. They’re not even gonna listen if she says she needs me because they only care about their family’s image.”

A teacher approaches them, concern evident on her face. “Moriya-san, we need to go back to the school.”

“I’m not going. I can spend the night in a hotel or something, I’m gonna stay near the hospital and go back to Yuuka as soon as they let me.” Decisive, Akane glares at the teacher, making it clear that she has no intention of leaving her girlfriend alone now.

Fuyuka lets out a sigh and glances at Habu briefly. “We’ll come back to the school,” she tells the teacher quietly, knowing that they can’t let Minami handle the Student Council work by herself all of a sudden. “But I need a way of contacting Akane to make sure she and Yuuka are okay.”

The teacher nods. “I will arrange something for that.” None of the girls in the school are allowed to use their phones because things like that will distract them from their studies - that is what the principal says, at least, and it’s also why neither Akane nor her friends have any phones on them right now.

The teacher disappears down the hallway and Habu pats Akane’s shoulder. “We’ll see what we can do in the school, okay, Akane?”

Akane nods, smiling wryly. “Thanks. I’ll… do what I can to help Yuuka recover.” She receives a thankful nod from Habu for that, knowing that even if the taller girl is trying not to show it, she is just as worried about Yuuka as Akane herself is.

* * *

The third-year students return to the school much later than it was originally planned. Minami rushes towards Habu and pulls her into a hug as soon as her two older friends step onto the school grounds, clearly worried. “Why were you gone for so long?! You said you’d be back hours ago! Did Yuuka at least win the tournament?”

Habu sighs uncomfortably and gently pushes Minami back to look her girlfriend in the eyes. “Yukka had to be taken to the hospital,” she says softly, causing the younger girl’s eyes to widen in shock. “Her horse slipped and she fell. She broke her leg pretty badly.”

Risa, who seems to have overheard part of Habu’s words, scoffs as she walks past them towards the school building. “She deserves it.”

Minami opens her mouth as if to protest, but Fuyuka holds out her arm, stopping her. “Don’t, Minami. We’ll already have enough of a mess to fix if Akane ever hears her say that, so please don’t make things any worse.”

The younger girl’s expression becomes troubled and she bites her lip. “Let me guess… they’re not even going to let us visit Yuuka.”

“Probably not,” Habu agrees with a sigh. “Akane said she’d spend the night in a hotel so she can stay with Yukka, so we have to take care of the Student Council for them.”

Minami sighs and nods. “Alright. Is Akane okay, then? Knowing her, she must be really worried…”

Her friend and girlfriend exchange a meaningful glance before Fuyuka speaks up, her voice quiet. “She was so upset that she yelled at Yuuka’s father that they’re dating. Obviously, he said she’s never allowed to meet Yuuka again.”

The younger girl groans; she hasn’t been in the Student Council for as long as her friends, but even she has learned that the headmaster is very conservative and strict. “That’s horrible.” Realizing that there are still some unsaid words lingering in the air, she slowly adds, “...and we’re supposed to fix that for her? What are we meant to do, tell the headmaster she was just lying because she wanted to see Yuuka? I doubt that’ll work.”

“Exactly that, probably,” Fuyuka confirms with a sigh. “I said we’d try, but I doubt he’ll believe us when we try to tell him a story like that.”

The three of them follow the other students back into the school building, though they are more lost in their thoughts than anyone else. “Ah!” Minami suddenly exclaims, clapping her hands as she realizes something. “We need to give a speech, don’t we? I mean, we’re the Student Council, so don’t we need to tell the students why Yuuka and Akane aren’t here?”

“Oh… right.” Fuyuka nods slightly. “Want me to do it?”

Habu and Minami exchange a quick glance and then nod in unison.

“Fine then.” Having already expected that outcome, Fuyuka glances at her wristwatch. “Give me… uh, fifteen minutes, okay? You can tell the students to come to the gym in fifteen minutes, I’ll come up with something to tell them by then.”

Her friends nod and the three of them head to the Student Council office, with Habu and Minami heading to the table that holds the broadcasting system while Fuyuka sits at her own desk and takes out a sheet of paper to take some quick notes for her speech.

Fifteen minutes later, they stand behind the stage in the gym, looking at each other warily. “Will this really be fine? They’ll bombard us with questions, right?” Habu asks quietly.

“It has to be fine, there’s nothing else we can do,” Minami whispers back at her, though she also doesn’t seem entirely convinced. This is the first time in their time in the Student Council that they’ve had to go completely without a leader, and they can’t help but wonder what Risa will make out of this.

Fuyuka remains silent and then clears her throat, stepping out onto the stage without saying a single word to her friends. “Hello, everyone,” she speaks into the microphone, her voice sounding calmer than she actually feels. “Sadly I have some bad news for you today. Some of you may already have heard it from the third-years… but Sugai Yuuka got into an accident during her tournament today.”

A surprised murmur rises in the crowd of students; most first-year and second-year girls are not close enough to their senpais to have heard the news already. From her spot behind Fuyuka, Minami’s eyes find Risa at the back of the gym, ready to come forward and raise her voice against the older girl if necessary.

“Yuuka is in the hospital right now,” Fuyuka continues, glancing down at her notes briefly. “We don’t know exactly how badly she is hurt, and we don’t know when she will be back. Even when she comes back, she may not be able to completely take up all her duties immediately, so I’d like to ask everyone to cooperate and not cause any trouble during this time. Moriya Akane is with her in the hospital to keep an eye on Yuuka right now; we don’t know when she will be back here, either. This means that Habu, Koike and I will be taking care of all the Student Council duties for the time being.”

The students are still whispering to each other, until a girl from the front of the gym speaks up hesitantly. “Was it… really an accident?”

Fuyuka’s eyes dart towards her friends and Minami focuses on Risa even more. “What do you mean, Takahashi-san?”

Takahashi, a second-year student who has not ‘picked her side,’ as Risa calls it, looks around nervously. “Did someone… try to manipulate the tournament?”

The murmurs become louder, rumors already spreading within the student body.

Fuyuka’s expression darkens. “We don’t know that, but nobody in the school has anything to do with it.” She doesn’t know if Risa has anything to do with it, but if she does, Fuyuka doesn’t want the other students to know it. There are already enough problems in the community of this school.

At the back of the gym, Risa stands in silence, the expression on her face dark. Minami sees her classmates Kobayashi Yui and Harada Aoi step next to her and whisper something to her, but Risa shows no obvious reaction.

A few more students ask questions that Fuyuka either cannot, or refuses to answer. No, she does not know when Yuuka will be back; no, she does not know how bad her injuries are; no, she was not allowed to talk to Yuuka after the accident; and no, Akane did not say when she is planning to come back either.

The gathering ends like that and Fuyuka lets out a heavy sigh when she returns to the backstage area with Habu and Minami. “Risa didn’t try anything, huh? That’s good.”

“She was talking to Yui and Aoi,” Minami relays what she saw during Fuyuka’s speech, “but whatever they said to her, I don’t think she cared about it very much.”

“Well, but at least everything went kind of smoothly,” Habu adds, smiling awkwardly. She squeezes her girlfriend’s hand tightly, receiving a small, thankful smile from Minami.

Slowly, the three of them head back to the Student Council office. They still need to note down in the school records on which date Yuuka’s accident happened so that they can keep track of how long she is gone.

Realizing that she doesn’t have the document necessary for that, Fuyuka heads over to Yuuka’s desk, mumbles an apology that she knows her friend can’t hear, and starts to look through the desk drawers for the document that is used to keep track of the President’s absence. “Ah,” she mutters in surprise when she finds an unlabeled, snow white envelope in one of the drawers.

Even though she knows she shouldn’t be doing this, Fuyuka opens the envelope and her eyes widen in shock when she realizes what Yuuka keeps in it. “The letters…”

“What letters?” Habu asks, surprised, and comes over to look over her friend’s shoulder. Minami follows her and does the same, frowning when she realizes that these must be the letters Hirate Yurina received when she was bullied.

“Why is she even keeping these… she should have thrown them away,” Fuyuka mutters, frowning as she slides the letters back into the envelope and moves to put them back into the drawer.

However, Minami suddenly grabs the envelope. “Stop. Let’s keep them.”

“What?”

“We’re looking for a way to get Yuuka’s parents not to kick Akane out of the school, right?”

Hesitantly, Habu and Fuyuka nod.

“Then let’s use these letters,” Minami continues, sounding dead serious. “It might not be the fairest solution, but it should work, don’t you think? We could tell the headmaster that we’ll tell the public that he bullied Yurina-san out of the school if he kicks Akane out.”

Fuyuka’s eyebrows furrow as she sinks deep into her thoughts. “That’s… we really shouldn’t do that.”

“But it’s all we _can_ do, right?” Habu speaks up softly. “I’m not just saying this because Mii-chan suggested it… but they won’t listen to us otherwise, right?”

The younger girl remains silent for a while. “Well… we did promise Akane to try to fix this. But the headmaster might kick us out, too, in the worst case.”

Minami smiles wryly. “At least we can all go together, then. It won’t be just one of us. And we can say that we tried.”

Finally, Fuyuka lets out a heavy sigh. “Fine,” she agrees with a small nod, glancing at the envelope in Minami’s hand. “Fine, we can do what you suggested, Mii-chan. But nobody can know about it.”

The youngest girl’s wry smile turns into a smirk. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. I think Yuuka’s parents won’t want anyone to know either. They can’t handle the thought of their perfect reputation being ruined, especially by some silly highschoolers.”

* * *

Yuuka wakes up in the hospital when the sun rises, her heart clenching when she remembers everything that happened. It is still early, so she is alone in the room, and she carefully tries to turn until she lies on her left side so that she can look out of the window.

She doesn’t know how long she lies there like that, her eyes fixated on the orange sky that slowly turns blue while her thoughts are racing, trying to make sense of the things that happened. After all, a lot of things happened in a short timespan; and she comes to realize that she doesn’t even know what is happening in the school right now. She doesn’t have her phone with her either, so she has no way of contacting anyone who might be able to tell her about that.

Eventually a nurse comes in - Yuuka recognizes the same woman who kicked her parents and Akane out on the previous day - and smiles at her in mild surprise. “Good morning, Sugai-san. I thought you’d still be asleep.”

Yuuka smiles awkwardly. “I couldn’t sleep anymore, I… have a lot of things to worry about now that I’m here.”

“Please focus on your recovery first, Sugai-san,” the nurse reprimands her gently. “I’m sure your… friend will come visit you soon. You don’t want to make her worry too much, right?”

The Student Council President lets out a sigh and nods, her smile slowly falling. Of course she doesn’t want Akane to worry; she just knows that all of this will have the consequences that they have always tried not to think about.

The nurse brings in a tray that contains Yuuka’s breakfast, and once she has left the room again, Yuuka slowly starts to eat. She doesn’t really feel hungry, her mind still occupied by the many problems this accident brought to her, but she forces herself to eat anyways because she knows her body needs the nutrients. 

Yuuka is not sure how much time exactly has passed, but sometime after she has finished eating, someone knocks at the door, and only moments later, Akane stands in the room, a slightly awkward smile on her lips. “Hey.”

“Akanen!” They are not in the school right now, so Yuuka really couldn’t care less if anyone hears her use Akane’s nickname. Normally, she would have loved to get up and hug her girlfriend, but that is impossible with her leg in a heavy plaster cast, so she can only give Akane a relieved smile. “I’m so glad to see you.”

“I’m sorry I left you like that yesterday.”

“You couldn’t do anything about it, the nurse needed to kick all of you out.”

Silence falls over them for a while, but then Akane speaks up. “I didn’t go back to the school yesterday.”

Yuuka nods. “I figured… you wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

“Right. Shiraishi-sensei gave me a phone, and Fuu-chan too,” Akane reaches into her pocket and pulls out what seems to be a cheap, simple cell phone; not even a smartphone. “So I called her this morning and asked how things are going in the school.”

“And?”

“Apparently someone asked if the tournament was manipulated.”

Yuuka’s eyes go wide. “I… no, I’m sure it was an accident…”

Akane’s eyebrows furrow momentarily; she is not so sure of that. She’s not sure she would accuse Risa, which is what Fuyuka said the other student might have implied, but she knows that there are always people who are jealous of others’ talents. However, that is not something she wants to discuss with Yuuka right now. “Yeah, if you say so. And she said they might have found a way to… fix this mess.” The Vice President gestures at herself and her girlfriend. “But she didn’t tell me what that way is yet.”

Yuuka sighs, smiling weakly. “They’re so… kind and helpful, I don’t deserve friends like them.”

“Hey, if that’s the case, then I don’t deserve them either. But it’s _not_ the case, because you’re just as kind and helpful as they are,” Akane says strictly, finally stepping closer to the bed and taking Yuuka’s hand.

The President relaxes ever so slightly when Akane’s hand finally touches her. “Thank you, Akane. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Slowly, a smile spreads on Akane’s lips and she lifts Yuuka’s hand up to kiss the back of it. “You’d be bored and lonely in here. And you wouldn’t have anyone to cuddle with at night.”

The older girl chuckles softly. “You’re right.”

“Don’t worry about what’s happening in the school so much. You need to focus on recovering,” Akane changes the topic, sitting down at the edge of the bed. “The others are taking care of everything for us right now.”

“You don’t normally rely on them so much…”

“I know, but things are not normal now. You need me here, right?” It may sound a little egocentric, but Akane is simply saying the truth; she has been so close to Yuuka for long enough to be able to tell when the President needs her girlfriend.

Yuuka nods, a comfortable silence falling over them. She shifts on the bed and leans forward, resting her head on Akane’s shoulder and closing her eyes. “When you go back to the school… promise me you won’t do anything reckless, okay?”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going back without you.” Akane smiles and starts to massage her girlfriend’s hand. “You can make sure I won’t do anything reckless all by yourself.”

Yuuka nods, and her eyes widen when Akane leans in and kisses her gently.

Suddenly, however, the door opens and the nurse comes back in a small smirk spreading on her lips when she sees Akane. “So you came back for Sugai-san.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t leave her alone in a situation like this.” Akane moves back, both her and her girlfriend’s cheeks slowly turning red when they realize that the nurse probably saw them kiss.

The nurse nods, turning away to check on the infusion with the painkilling medication that Yuuka is still hooked up on. “I’m supposed to send you away so that Sugai-san can rest,” she starts and continues talking when Akane opens her mouth to protest, “but I can see that she is much more comfortable with you here. So I’m going to let you stay during the day, but I’m afraid you will have to leave in the evening.”

“Yes,” Akane says, relief washing over her when she realizes that she won’t have to fight with the nurse in order to stay with her girlfriend. “Thank you very much.”

The nurse gives her an amused smile. “I came because the machine alerted me that Sugai-san’s heartbeat was going unnaturally fast,” she explains, “but I assume she’s feeling absolutely fine, am I right?”

Yuuka’s cheeks take on an even deeper red color and she nods quickly. “I’m… fine, really. That’s right.”

“In that case, I’ll leave you two to… whatever you were doing.” The nurse jerks her head in Akane’s direction briefly. “Just remember to press that button if you start to feel worse in any way, Sugai-san.” She points at a button that is situated on the wall next to the bed and then leaves the room, but not before giving them another grin.

Once they are alone again, Yuuka relaxes visibly, letting out a heavy sigh. “Akane,” she mutters, her voice almost a little whiny. “That was so embarrassing.”

“It was your heart that started beating so fast, not mine,” Akane reminds her, clearly amused, but then she leans in and kisses her girlfriend’s temple. “The nurse was right, though. You should rest some more.”

“Don’t leave, Akane.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Akane gives the President a gentle, genuine smile. “Let me just go out and buy something to eat, okay? Some fruits or something like that. I could use a snack right now.”

Yuuka looks almost a little hesitant, but she nods without attempting to protest. She doesn’t want to be alone, but she knows she can’t force Akane to stay with her at all times, especially since the other girl already promised to be back soon.

Once Akane has left the room, Yuuka lets out a sigh and pulls the blanket a little higher up, closing her eyes. She does realize that her body needs more rest, and there is nothing interesting happening without Akane here anyways, so she decides to try to rest while she is alone.

Akane comes back into the room a while later, carrying a bag that bears the logo of a nearby convenience store, and only moments after she closes the door, her phone starts to ring. Surprised, she lifts it to her ear while waving ‘hello’ to Yuuka with her other hand. “Yes?”

_“Hey,”_ Fuyuka’s voice comes through the speaker. _“You said you’d visit Yuuka later, so I thought you’d probably be with her now.”_

“Ah, you want to talk to her?” Akane turns towards Yuuka, muttering to her, “It’s Fuu-chan.”

Yuuka’s expression brightens a little, happy to hear that their friends want to check on her. She accepts the phone with a small smile. “Fuu-chan!”

_“Hey, Yuuka.”_ The smile is almost audible in Fuyuka’s voice; it’s always like that. _“I wanted to check on you. Habu-chan and Mii-chan are here too, I’ve put you on speakerphone.”_

“Thank you. I’m… feeling a little better, but I’m still hooked up on painkillers, so that’s probably why.” Yuuka smiles weakly when she hears chuckles from the other end of the line. Apparently Fuyuka has put her on speakerphone so that Habu and Minami can hear her as well.

_“Yeah, that makes sense. Don’t worry about the school, okay? Akane probably told you this already, but you need to recover properly. Just take all the time you need to rest, we’ll handle everything here.”_ There is a strict tone in Fuyuka’s voice now.

Yuuka glances at Akane for a moment before she responds. “I’ll try, but… Akane said that some of the students were… well, let’s say, concerned about the tournament being manipulated.”

_“Oh, right. What they meant was, obviously… they were wondering if Risa sabotaged your horse or something.”_ Fuyuka sighs heavily. _“I told them that’s not the case, but of course we don’t know for sure.”_

“I don’t think Risa would do that.”

_“She thinks you pushed Yurina off the roof. Wouldn’t sabotaging your horse be a good enough ‘revenge’ for that?”_ The younger girl pauses for a moment, then letting out another sigh. _“I’m not trying to accuse her. I don’t think she had any chance to do it anyways, she doesn’t have a phone and she didn’t leave the school. But still, considering that she hates you so much… I get where the other students are coming from.”_

Yuuka hesitates, not knowing what to say in response to that. She knows that Fuyuka is right; in situations like this, the other girl usually is. “I… yes, you have a point there. Can I ask you something else?”

_“Of course, always.”_

“Akane said you found a way to convince my parents to let us stay together.”

For a moment, it is silent on the other end of the line. Then, Yuuka thinks she can hear her friends whispering to each other at a volume that makes it impossible to understand what they are saying. Finally, Fuyuka speaks up again. _“You don’t need to worry about that, Yuuka.”_

“I know, but can’t you tell me…?”

_“Sorry, but it’s supposed to be a surprise.”_ It’s Minami who answers this time, her voice sounding a little strict. _“And besides, we’re not sure if it’ll work yet, so just wait and see, okay?”_

Yuuka glances at Akane in confusion, even though she has not put her friends on speakerphone so her girlfriend could not hear what Minami just said. “Oh… alright.” She feels almost a little disappointed, and just as worried, but if they don’t want to tell her, she cannot force them.

They make small talk for a while longer, until Fuyuka realizes that it’s time to go to their next class and the three of them say goodbye, but not after telling Yuuka once again to take all the time she needs to rest and recover.

Yuuka finally hangs up and puts the phone down with a soft sigh, smiling weakly. “They wouldn’t tell me what they’re planning for my parents, either.”

Akane, who has been taking out and opening a bento box from the convenience store, looks up at her girlfriend and gives her a small smile. “It’ll be okay. You trust them, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

“See, I don’t think they’d come up with anything too dangerous. They’re not that reckless.”

“Mii-chan has her moments.”

Akane puts down the chopsticks that she just broke apart and lets out a small laugh. “I’d call her ‘moments’ sadistic rather than reckless, but yeah, you have a point. And now stop worrying about it, okay? It’s not going to help you recover if you keep thinking about it.”

Yuuka sighs once more, but she nods thankfully. “Thank you, Akane.”

“You don’t have to thank me, this is the least I can do.” With that, Akane leans in to kiss her girlfriend’s forehead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Here](https://twitter.com/_satoshioris/status/1332986121731575808) is a thread on Twitter where I talk about my thoughts about this AU and where I'll post updates!
> 
> The warnings in the tags don't apply to all chapters; when they apply, it will be mentioned in an author's note.


	8. 06

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year, everyone!

Three girls are standing in front of the principal’s office.

“Are you ready?” Minami asks her friend and girlfriend quietly, her hand clenching around the letters that she is holding.

Fuyuka and Habu exchange a brief glance and nod at each other. All three of them take a deep breath; then Fuyuka knocks at the door.

The headmaster grumpily tells them to leave if they haven’t made an appointment with his secretary, but Fuyuka opens the door anyways and steps inside first, trying not to feel intimidated by the man’s annoyed glare. “Sugai-san, there is something we would like to talk to you about. Don’t worry, we’ll make it fast.”

He clicks his tongue, but puts down the pen he was writing something with.

“It’s about Moriya Akane.”

“That girl is getting expelled as soon as she sets a foot back into this school, thank you for reminding me.” He turns his chair around to take a folder out of the shelf behind him, possibly to prepare a letter that will explain Akane’s expulsion to her family.

Fuyuka clears her throat. “No, that is exactly what we wanted to talk about. We would really appreciate it if you didn’t kick Akane out.”

The principal’s eyebrows furrow in irritation. “And why would I listen to you? Moriya dishonored my only daughter.”

“Well… first of all, I’m sure Yuuka doesn’t feel dishonored. And second - Mii-chan, if you’d please…”

Reacting to her cue instantly, Minami looks through the letters and starts to read some of them out. “Retire from the presidential election. You’re not worthy of becoming President. Worthless brat, nobody wants you here.”

“I’m sure these sound familiar, right?” Fuyuka continues, not giving the headmaster time to react. “If you’re so insistent on expelling Akane… maybe the media would be interested to hear what made Hirate Yurina leave the school. And  _ who _ was behind it, especially.”

“You brats dare to threaten me-” The principal snaps at them, his voice slowly turning into a low growl. “If you did that, it would ruin the school.”

“Yes, it would. And I assume quite a few students would be fine with that, because not everything that happens in this school is good. But it wouldn’t be nearly as bad if Akane could stay in the school, right? So please think about it, Sugai-san.” Fuyuka gives him a respectful bow and then turns around, slowly heading back to the door.

As she opens the door, the principal slams his hand on his desk. “Saito, Koike, Habu.”

“Yes?”

“Moriya, and all of you, will get expelled as soon as I get the impression that you’ve told the media anything.”

“Of course.” Habu gives him a bright smile. “But as long as she, or any of us, doesn’t get expelled, there won’t be any need for us to tell them anything. Thank you for your cooperation.”

They leave the principal’s office and head back to the Student Council room. Fuyuka locks the door from the inside and leans back against it, letting out a heavy sigh. “That was… nerve-wracking.”

“But it worked,” Minami mutters, sounding a little surprised. “I can’t believe it worked. You were amazing, Fuu-chan.”

“I wasn’t, not at all. I could have done a lot better, probably.”

“But it worked out in the end.” Habu reaches out to squeeze her girlfriend’s hand tightly. “For now, things should be fine, right?”

Fuyuka lets out a long breath. “They should be. I hope so. I… hope  _ we _ don’t get expelled for this, especially. We have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Minami smiles wryly and holds up the envelope with the letters. “At least, if we get expelled, we can take the letters with us. It’ll be easier to release them to the public from outside the school, anyways.”

“Stop talking about that, Mii-chan. Let’s put these back where they belong.” Fuyuka snatches the envelope from Minami’s hand and heads over to Yuuka’s desk. “Ah, we have to come up with something that we can tell Yuuka and Akane, too. Things aren’t  _ fine _ just yet.”

Habu and Minami exchange a brief glance, their eyebrows furrowing slightly. “Can’t we just tell them the truth?” Habu asks, sighing softly. “If we lie to them and they find out later, they won’t be happy anyways.”

Fuyuka closes the drawer that she has just placed the envelope in with a little too much force. “I… maybe you’re right,” she relents, though her facial expression shows very clearly that she is not happy with Habu’s suggestion. “They won’t be happy either way, I suppose.”

For a while, it is silent in the Student Council room. The three of them stand in their spots, staring down at the soft carpet below their feet awkwardly. “Maybe we should keep the letters with us,” Minami eventually suggests, breaking the heavy silence. “I don’t trust the headmaster. He must have a master key for every room in the school, what if he comes here to look for the letters and get rid of them?”

“Take them if you want.” Fuyuka walks over to the window and leans onto the sill with another heavy sigh. “I… wonder when they’ll come back.”

“Soon, I’m sure.” As usual, Habu is the one who tries to keep them in high spirits. “Yukka won’t make us wait for that long.”

“I just hope she doesn’t push herself too hard, she needs to recover properly.” Fuyuka closes her eyes for a moment and rubs her forehead.

The silence that once again falls over them is interrupted when someone knocks at the door. The three girls exchange a quick glance; then, Minami walks over to the door, carefully opening it just a little bit. “Yes?”

“Minami?”

Minami’s eyes widen slightly and she lets out a small sigh of relief when she recognizes her classmate Yui. “Yui! What’s wrong?”

“I just… wanted to ask how Sugai-san is doing. I might be friends with Risa, but she’s still… our Student Council President.” Yui smiles wryly.

The shorter girl takes a step back and opens the door wider. “Come in, then,” she says softly, mirroring Yui’s wry smile.

“Kobayashi-chan,” Fuyuka and Habu greet Yui with a nod when she steps inside. “It’s nice to see you.”

Yui gives them a nod and a small smile. “It’s good to see you too. I was wondering if you’ve heard anything from Sugai-san.”

“We talked to her on the day after her accident,” Minami answers, looking at Fuyuka for a moment. Yui is her classmate and despite her closeness to Risa, they all know that she does not oppose the Student Council as much; however, they still don’t know what information Yui might give to anyone else. Even if it is Yui, they don’t want anyone to spread any more rumors in the school. “She said she wasn’t in pain, but that must have been because of the painkillers.”

“Oh… of course.” Yui doesn’t sound disappointed but rather concerned. “If you call her again… please send her my regards. I hope she recovers soon.”

“Of course, we hope that too.” Minami smiles sadly. “But we can only wait and hope that she doesn’t push herself too hard, I guess.”

Yui gives a hum of agreement. “How have you been doing?” she then changes the topic, not just addressing Minami but also Fuyuka and Habu; she has occasionally had brief conversations with them before, enough so to know that they are kind girls who work hard in order to support Yuuka and Akane. “If there’s anything you need any help with… you can tell me.”

“Yeah, we will.” There is a hint of hesitance in Minami’s voice, and Yui cannot bring herself to be mad at her for that. In the society of this school, they belong to adversarial groups, after all.

Fuyuka lets out a small sigh and pats the two second-year students’ shoulders. “You two should go and spend some time together. You haven’t hung out together lately, right?”

Minami laughs, an awkward smile on her lips. “Right. Ever since Yui-chan got close to Risa and I joined you guys, in fact.”

“See, then it’s time for you two to hang out together again. Just go and watch a movie together or something, it’ll be okay.”

“Really?” Minami’s eyes are on Yui now, as if she is afraid that Risa might see them and get mad at her.

Her classmate nods, smirking ever so slightly. “Risa doesn’t have to know. If she knew, she’d be mad at me, but she doesn’t have to know.”

Minami’s eyebrows furrow slightly. “Didn’t you have a crush on Risa? Considering that, you’re not really trying hard to please her, huh?”

“I don’t think she’d want to date me anyways, so it’s all good. She pays much more attention to Aoi than to me.” A hint of bitterness is in Yui’s voice as she says that, but then she shakes her head and puts a smile back onto her lips. “Well, I think Fuyuka-senpai is right, though… I certainly wouldn’t mind hanging out with you again. So, are you coming? Maybe there’s a free sofa in one of the common rooms.”

Finally, Minami nods, a smile spreading on her lips. “Yeah, of course I’ll come. Let me just…” She walks over to Habu, standing on her tiptoes and pressing a quick kiss to her girlfriend’s lips before returning to Yui’s side. “Let’s go, then.”

With that, the two second-year students leave the Student Council office, leaving behind Habu and Fuyuka after waving at them briefly. “Well,” Fuyuka sighs, a wry smile on her lips. “I guess this means all we can do is wait and see how everything goes from now on.”

* * *

The first volleyball practice after Yuuka’s accident feels odd to Hono. Usually, Risa is always there for all the club members, giving them tips on how to improve their form or yelling at them for slacking off. Most importantly, she hits back every ball that is thrown at her in whatever context.

This time, though, Hono feels more than shocked when a ball hits the back of Risa’s head and the older girl doesn’t even yell at the person who threw the ball. Like this, practice is almost even scarier than it usually is.

Every other club president would likely have ended their practice early on a day like this since almost everyone is distracted by what happened to the Student Council President, but Risa does not show even the slightest inclination to let the students leave before the official end of the club session.

When the practice session finally approaches its end, Risa finally allows the club members to return to the dressing room. Now, after a few weeks of practice, Hono has found her regular spot in the dressing room to be surprisingly close to Risa’s. She started out near the door, but for some reason, her bag now sits on the bench only a few seats away from Risa’s.

This time, the three spots between them are empty; Hono can see a few students huddling close together in the corner of the room that is the furthest away from Risa. Clearly, they are afraid of her odd behavior, and while Hono herself also finds it appropriate to be careful around Risa at this time, she sees no point in trying to distance herself so much from the club’s captain. Instead, she gives Risa a shy smile. “Risa-san… are you alright?”

Risa raises her head slowly, her attention moving away from the shirt she has just picked up. “Do I look like I’m not alright?”

Hono stiffens for a moment, suddenly feeling all the other club members’ eyes on her. A part of her wonders where the sudden courage to strike up a conversation with Risa came from. “I… that’s not what I wanted to say. I’m sorry.”

For a few moments, an awkward silence hangs in the room. Then, Risa lets out a sigh. “Yui and Aoi always say I need to be nicer to people, so I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you like that.” Despite that, her apology sounds half-hearted, like everything she has been saying during the practice session.

“Ah… no, it’s fine.” Hono smiles awkwardly. She doesn’t quite know how to react to this; as far as she can remember, this is the first time Risa has ever apologized to one of them.  _ The effect that Sugai-senpai’s absence has on all of us. _ “By the way…” she lowers her voice, sitting down on the bench to take off her gym shoes. “How are you feeling?”

“How am I feeling? Where is that coming from?” The captain raises an eyebrow.

“...well, you’re so… quiet. Even more than usual. Is it because of Sugai-senpai’s accident?” At this point, Hono’s voice is no more than a barely audible whisper. Halfway through her sentence, she realized that it might have been a bad idea to bring up this topic in the dressing room that is still filled with students.

Risa smirks slightly. “Ah, you’re wondering if I manipulated the tournament? You can believe whatever you want, you know. Whether I did it or not… it’s over and it can’t be undone.”

“What does that mean?” That was not the implication Hono wanted to make, so her eyebrows furrow slightly.

“Well, I’m going to say that I didn’t do it, and there will always be people who don’t believe me. That’s just how it is.” Risa gets up, having finished putting her school uniform back on. “See you tomorrow, Tamura-san.”

“Risa-san…” Hono tries to protest weakly, but she doesn’t know what else to say, doesn’t know how to stop Risa from picking up her bag and heading towards the door. All she can do is watch Risa leave the dressing room, her brows knit together in a frown.

The odd feeling never leaving her mind and heart, Hono makes her way back to the room she shares with Hikaru. As she enters their hallway, she can hear laughter.

“Hey, give that back, Yui-chan!”

“No, I like it, I want to wear it!”

For a moment, Hono stops in her tracks in front of the room that Matsuda, Takemoto and Inoue share. She knocks at the door and once she receives permission to do so, she steps inside hurriedly.

“Ah, Hono-chan,” Takemoto looks over at her from where she is sitting on her bed, her body curled around what seems to be one of the shirts belonging to Matsuda who is sitting half on top of her, trying to pull the shirt from the younger girl’s grasp without damaging it.

“Hi…” Hono trails off, smiling weakly as a part of her wonders what on earth she just walked in on. “You guys… are having fun, it seems.”

Matsuda sits up, seemingly giving up on her shirt for the time being. An expression of mild concern spreads on her face. “You came here right after your practice? Is something wrong?”

Hono hesitates briefly, but then shakes her head. “No, it’s all good. It’s just… Risa-san was a little weird today.”

“Everything is weird right now,” Takemoto huffs, sitting up and putting the shirt on the mattress behind her back. “Did Risa-san say anything… about the tournament?”

“No. I asked if she was okay, and she just assumed that I was asking because I’m wondering if she manipulated the tournament. Which… was not the case.” Maybe, that doesn’t sound as convincing as Hono would have liked it to. “She just said that no matter if she did it or not, there’s always going to be people who don’t believe the truth… and then she left. She was just as cryptic as Sugai-senpai and Moriya-senpai back then when we first met them.”

“Maybe she’s just exhausted,” Matsuda suggests, letting out a small sigh. “Obviously we don’t know if she had anything to do with the accident, but… I don’t think she would’ve had a chance to organize that kind of thing.”

“You’re right.” Hono lets out a brief sigh. “Well, but I came here because I wanted to forget about all that. Where is Inoue?”

“She went to the music rooms.” Takemoto laughs amusedly. “Said she wanted to try playing a clarinet.”

“A clarinet?”

“It’s weird, right? She’s never played one before, as far as I know, and the teacher probably already left for today too.” The younger girl’s comment makes Hono chuckle a little, at least. “By the way, Hono-chan. You never told us how you met Hikaru. You knew her even before coming here, right?”

The question comes as a slight surprise to Hono, but she eagerly accepts Takemoto’s attempt to distract her. “Right. Our families are neighbors, basically, so we met when we were still kids.”

“Oh… and you’ve been friends for that long? That’s kind of admirable,” Matsuda hums in mild surprise. “I don’t think I’m still very close with anyone from my kindergarten.”

Hono nods, smiling a little. “You’re right, I’ve lost contact with almost all my friends from that time, too. But Hii-chan is so nice and patient with me, she always comes to all my volleyball games too, if she can make time for it.”

“Right, your volleyball games. I’ll have to watch one of them when I get the chance.” Matsuda does not give off the impression of being particularly interested in volleyball, but she is certainly willing to watch a game or two for her friends.

Inoue soon returns to the room, interrupting a round of small talk that the other three girls are having. “Oh, what are you doing here, Hono?”

“I just wanted to talk to you guys for a bit,” Hono smiles at the younger girl. “The others said you went to play a clarinet, how did it go?”

“Oh, it was fun. I couldn’t really get many sounds out of it, though,” Inoue laughs, clearly not bothered by her initial failure. “I’ll see if I can find a teacher tomorrow.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Takemoto agrees, a wide grin on her lips. “I don’t want to hear you play before a teacher has taught you how to do it properly.”

“It’s not like you’d do a better job,” the older girl protests.

Hono and Matsuda watch them with half-amused, half-helpless smiles, until their bickering is interrupted by someone knocking at the door. Hikaru steps into the room once she receives permission to do so, and a slightly surprised expression spreads on her face when her eyes meet Hono’s. “I was looking for you, Hono,” she starts, “you weren’t coming to our room even though it’s been a while since the club sessions ended, so I got worried.”

“Ah, everything is fine, I just wanted to spend some time with Marina and Takeke.” The use of that nickname causes Takemoto to snicker because barely anyone ever uses it. “But I was already thinking about coming back to our room,” Hono adds, exchanging a quick glance with Matsuda. “See you guys during dinner, then.”

The three other girls wave after them as they leave and head back to their own room. “So, did you really just want to spend some time with them?” Hikaru asks, a hint of curiosity in her voice. “Or was there more to it? I mean, you don’t  _ have _ to tell me if you don’t want to.”

Hono shakes her head quickly, a slightly awkward smile on her lips. “That’s not it. There was more to it, I talked to Risa-san after practice. She was… a little weird, almost as cryptic as Sugai-senpai and Moriya-senpai on our first day here.”

The shorter girl raises an eyebrow, intrigued. “What did she say?”

“That she didn’t manipulate Sugai-senpai’s tournament, but that there will always be people who don’t believe her. That no matter whether she did it or not, the accident is over and can’t be undone.” Hono takes out the key to their room and unlocks the door, stepping inside and holding the door open for her roommate.

Hikaru's eyebrows furrow slightly. “That almost sounds like something a fortune teller would say.”

“Right. Marina said she probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity to organize that kind of thing, so… I think I want to believe that it’s not her fault.” Hono drops the bag with her gym equipment next to her desk and sits down on her bed with a sigh. “She hates Sugai-senpai, but somehow… I don’t think she would do something like this.”

“So you wanted some distraction from all that and that’s why you went to their room,” Hikaru concludes, a small smile forming on her lips. “I get it, I get it. I just thought… I don’t know,  _ things _ happened in this school, so I guess a part of me wanted to make sure you’re not the next one falling off the roof.”

A small chuckle escapes Hono’s lips, although she, too, fears even the idea of getting into trouble with any of the older students. “I don’t think that will happen, you promised to keep me out of your investigations after all.”

“I hope so.”

* * *

Yui is sitting in the music room, plucking at the strings of her guitar aimlessly. The choir practice has already ended, quite a bit earlier than usual because almost nobody could hold their notes properly since they are all,  _ still _ , distracted.

Distraction is what comes upon Yui now as well; someone pushes the door to the room open and comes in without knocking.

“Risa,” the younger girl says in surprise, looking up from her guitar strings. “What’s wrong? You don’t come here a lot-”

“Sing for me, Yui,” Risa murmurs quietly, and then her eyebrows furrow, apparently a little taken aback. “I mean, is that okay?”

Yui lets out a soft sigh and nods. “Of course.” It is rare for Risa to actually ask if something is okay for her, so she wants to show her that this kind of interaction will bring her more positive results than her usual, colder way of speaking.

Soon, the room is filled with the gentle sound of Yui’s voice and her guitar as she sings a tragic love song that she now realizes perfectly describes the situation she is currently in - “I” can only watch from afar as “you” elopes with his fiancé.

Risa, however, does not notice that the hint of pain in Yui’s voice is her own and not that of the lyrical I. She only smiles a little when Yui finishes. “Thank you. That was really nice.”

Yui lets out a sigh. “Thanks. So, why did you come here?” Her original plan of making Risa understand that a little more kindness goes a long way forgotten when she realizes that the older girl just really doesn’t understand her feelings, her words come out a little more clipped and cold than she originally intended.

“Did I do something wrong again?”

_ Oh, so  _ now _ you notice that something’s off. So why couldn’t you tell when I was singing? _

“No, you didn’t,” Yui lies, rather than revealing what she is really thinking. Risa must have come here for a reason, so she doesn’t want to confess her feelings just yet. “What’s up, Risa?”

The older girl sighs quietly. “Yu-... Sugai’s accident.”

Yui slowly raises an eyebrow as she starts to pack up her guitar. “It bothers you? Because people are accusing you of causing it?”

“No, not because of that.” Risa is chewing on her lip now. “She… was my friend, Yui.”

“I’ve heard so, yes.” Yui gets up from her chair and walks towards Risa, stopping just in front of the other girl. “If she was your friend and you’re worried about her, then why don't you forgive her already?”

“Because she… hurt Techi.” Even though she is saying that, Risa does not sound entirely convinced. “It’s not that easy, Yui.”

“Risa… I know it’s not that easy, but don’t you think it’s time to find some closure? Maybe all of us could have a serious conversation about this together or something.” Even as she is making this suggestion, Yui already expects Risa to refuse it.

And indeed, Risa does not seem convinced. She does mutter a quiet ‘maybe,’ but her demeanor makes it very clear that she is not satisfied with the suggestion.

For a while, it is quiet. Yui wants to just change the topic and leave already, but she knows they need to talk about this; she doesn’t want to have to hear Risa talk about how much she hates Yuuka until she graduates. “You came here because Sugai-san’s accident bothers you, but you’re not willing to listen to me when I say you should try to fix your relationship with her… so what kind of advice were you expecting?”

The older girl stiffens slightly. Maybe she does not even know what she came here for; maybe she just wanted to be close to Yui for a bit, without anyone bothering them. “I don’t know, Yui.”

“So you’re going to keep hating Sugai-san.”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

A heavy sigh leaves Yui’s lips and she picks up her guitar case. “Neither do I, so it seems like this is getting us nowhere. There’s actually something else I’ve been wanting to talk to you about, but I’m not sure I should be saying it right now.” She still wants to confess her feelings to Risa, but it feels so hard to find the right moment for that.

“What is it?” Risa practically jumps at the chance to talk about something different, but Yui is the one who shakes her head with a wry smile now.

“No, it’s not the right time yet.” She can wait a little longer; she has been waiting for a while already, so a few more days will not matter.

They leave the music room side by side, but in silence. Together, they head towards the room that Risa and Aoi share, but when Yui wants to walk on to her own room, she feels Risa grip her wrist tightly. “Stay. I want to spend some time with you and Aoi.”

_ With you and Aoi. _ The words resonate in Yui’s ears like an echo, but she cannot say no. “Okay,” she agrees with a weak smile that almost betrays her feelings. “Okay, I’ll stay.”

Aoi looks up from her homework when the two of them come in, and she frowns slightly. “What happened between you two?”

“What do you mean?” Yui tries to play it cool, but maybe she does look a little upset.

“I mean that you two look like you talked about something that upset both of you and you’re just trying to ignore your feelings.”

For a split second, Yui and Risa glance at each other before they avert their eyes again.

Aoi lets out a sigh. “I don’t want to sit between you two while it feels like you’re going to start yelling at each other any second, so why don’t you tell Risa what’s on your mind, Yui?”

Yui’s eyes go wide. “Me? There’s nothing on my mind.”

“Then why do you look this uncomfortable?”

Risa’s eyes are on Yui now too, as if she’s searching for the discomfort that Aoi apparently sees in her expression.

“I’m not uncomfortable-”

The youngest girl simply raises an eyebrow. “You look like you are.”

Even so, this is not the moment in which Yui wants to confess her feelings, so she settles for something else. “Why are you so opposed to making up with Sugai-san?”

Risa holds her breath for a moment before exhaling loudly. “You’re not going to be satisfied with ‘she pushed Techi.’”

“No, I’m not.”

Silence hangs in the room for a moment before Risa breaks it as she walks over towards her bed. “I admired Yuuka, she was the kindest person I’ve ever known.”

_ Then what changed? _ \- The question hangs in the air unspoken, neither of the two younger girls dares to speak up and interrupt Risa.

The older girl sits down on her bed and runs a hand through her hair, suddenly seeming exhausted. “Techi was bullied. Akane wrote some of the letters, I saw her holding them. She was already Yuuka’s roommate back then, so Yuuka must have known what she was doing. Yuuka was on board with it, and then she pushed Techi off the roof.”

“You said you saw them do it,” Aoi says softly. “You… said you saw them push her-”

“Yes, I did.”

Yui presses her lips together, not wanting to question Risa right now. A part of her still doubts that Yuuka  _ definitely _ pushed Yurina, but she cannot bring herself to say that out loud now. “So… Sugai-san broke your trust?” she mutters instead, her voice soft. “By not stopping Moriya-san from bullying Hirate-san.”

Risa nods slightly. “We were Techi’s friends, we were meant to protect her together… and yet, Yuuka was the one who made her feel that horrible. It was so cruel of her. And what’s even worse… when it all started, Yuuka promised me to keep an eye out for who the bully might be. But then… I heard her talking to her father about him bullying Techi.”

This is the first time they have actually talked about Risa’s feelings regarding the whole situation. Aoi opens her mouth to say something, clearly not having expected such a serious conversation, but it seems like Risa is not done talking.

“And it’s not just that Techi left because of her… I lost my girlfriend because of Yuuka, too. Even if I  _ could _ possibly stop saying bad things about her, I’m not sure I could ever forgive her and trust her again. I just can’t believe I trusted her so much.” The oldest girl sounds sad and almost a little broken now, and Yui reaches out to squeeze her hand.

All three of them are silent for a few moments before Yui speaks up quietly. “Thank you, Risa.” She knows it was hard for Risa to admit that she used to admire Yuuka. “I know that was hard for you, but… this was my first time hearing some of the things you just said, so I’m glad you told us.”

Next to her, Aoi nods, her expression sad and concerned. “You should’ve told us that that’s bothering you earlier, Risa. We might have been able to help.”

“You can’t help, what are you going to do? I can’t forgive Yuuka for what she and her parents did.” Risa laughs bitterly. “If I’d been able to, I would’ve left this school with Techi and Manaka, but my parents didn’t let me leave. So… I’m still here, and in the end, I’m okay with that because I met you two… but it hurts to be this close to Yuuka.”

Yui wants to say something along the lines of ‘I understand that,’ but she stops herself from doing so because she knows she does not understand. She has never been in Risa’s situation and came into this school as an outsider who had nothing to do with the events that happened during Risa and the others’ first year, so she decides not to say anything that might make the older girl even more upset. “Thank you for telling us,” she says instead, once again squeezing Risa’s hand tightly as she exchanges a quick glance with Aoi. “I appreciate that, really.”

“If you tell anyone what I just told you, I’ll…”

“We won’t,” Aoi interrupts her roommate quickly. “Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone.”

Risa lets out a sigh, finally relaxing a little. Her voice is quiet when she speaks up again. “...thank you. I haven’t talked about this with anyone until now.”

Yui smiles a little. “You know you can tell us anything.” As she says this, a hint of the already familiar feeling of guilt forms in her heart; her thoughts trail off to Hikaru and her research for a moment. She did make a promise to tell the first-year students if she finds out anything new about the ‘Hirate incident.’ However, Yui manages to calm herself down a little, she doesn’t have to tell them everything Risa just revealed to her. There is a clear difference between telling them that Yuuka used to be friends with Risa and telling them that Risa hates herself for trusting Yuuka.

Aoi nods in agreement, patting Risa’s shoulder. “See, I think we’re all feeling a little better now, so let’s go watch a movie together.”

Risa’s eyes dart towards her roommate’s desk briefly. “Weren’t you doing homework?”

“Yes, but I feel like all three of us are in need of a good movie.” Aoi places her hands on Risa and Yui’s backs and pushes them towards the door and out of the room.

Exchanging a weak smile, the two other girls follow Aoi as she leads them towards one of the common rooms.

* * *

Akane is humming to herself softly as she steps through the wide glass doors that automatically open for her. A week has passed since Yuuka was admitted into the hospital, and the doctor in charge of Yuuka’s ward has told them that she will most likely be allowed to leave in about three days; however, when Akane enters the hospital and greets the receptionist as she walks past the front desk, her eyes find Yuuka who is sitting in a wheelchair in the waiting area, her injured leg in a plaster cast and her suitcase with her belongings next to her.

“Yuuka?!” Her eyes widening, Akane rushes over to her girlfriend. “What are you doing here? I thought the doctor said you have to stay for three more days!”

Yuuka smiles weakly and shakes her head. “He changed his mind. He said I was doing better than expected, and that I can leave today if I want.”

Akane’s eyes narrow now; she rarely doubts her girlfriend’s words, but she knows that Yuuka tends to push herself too hard. “Are you sure he told you that? Are you sure you didn’t tell him that you really,  _ really _ need to get back to the school?”

Yuuka’s eyes dart down to her hands which rest in her lap, intertwined. “I’m not lying to you, Akanen.”

A sigh leaves Akane’s lips and she shakes her head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way. I’m just worried.”

“I’ll be fine. That’s why they put me in a wheelchair, see? So that I’ll be careful. And I know you won’t let me put too much pressure on my leg.”

“You trust me too much, I won’t be able to be with you all the time.” But Akane steps behind the wheelchair without complaining anymore. With Yuuka holding onto her suitcase herself, Akane steers the wheelchair towards the big glass doors. Once they are outside on the sidewalk, she takes out the cheap phone that their teacher gave her and calls a taxi.

The taxi takes them back to the school, and Yuuka leans her head against Akane’s shoulder as they drive up to the luxurious building. “I can’t believe we just spent a full week away from this place.”

“It would have been a week and a half if you weren’t so stubborn.” Smiling, Akane turns her head and kisses the tip of Yuuka’s nose. “You’re not giving a speech or anything today yet, okay? I think you should just adjust to life in a wheelchair first.”

“Fine,” the older girl relents, sighing softly. “That sounds like a good idea.”

“Thank you.”

The taxi stops in front of the gate, and the driver helps Akane unload the wheelchair from the car trunk. Akane uses Yuuka’s key to unlock the gate and pushes her girlfriend onto the school’s grounds after paying the driver, turning back to lock the gate again once they are both inside.

Luckily, the school has an elevator that is normally used by the students on the first and last day of the school year so that they don’t have to carry their heavy suitcases up and down the stairs - now, it comes in more than handy for Akane and Yuuka. The elevator takes them up to the floor that their rooms are on and they leave the suitcase in Yuuka’s room, but when Akane moves to help Yuuka out of the wheelchair, her girlfriend quickly shakes her head. “No, not yet, Akanen. I think… I should go see my father.”

Akane raises an eyebrow. “You want to see him? Really?”

“I think I need to tell him that I’m here. I need to tell him not to make you leave the school.” Yuuka sounds a little more decisive now, so her girlfriend gives in with a soft sigh. Akane pushes the wheelchair back out of Yuuka’s room and they take the elevator down to the floor that the headmaster’s office is on.

The Student Council office is on the same floor, and as they head past it, the door opens and Habu comes out, her eyes widening when she sees Akane and Yuuka. “Yukka! You’re back already? I thought you were going to be gone for a while longer!”

Yuuka shifts and turns in her wheelchair as much as she can. “Hi, Habu-chan,” she says with a soft smile. “Yes, the doctor said I could leave if I’m careful with my leg. And because I’m back early, I thought it would be good to tell my father that I’m back.”

Habu’s eyes dart back to the door of the Student Council office for a moment, a hint of a frown on her face - but only a moment later she is smiling again. “Then, well… good luck.”

“Thank you.” She is going to need that, especially when it comes to convincing her father not to make Akane leave the school. They say goodbye to Habu for the time being and Akane pushes the wheelchair over to the principal’s office. 

Before she knocks at the door, Yuuka hesitates for a moment. “Is this okay for you, Akane?”

“Why wouldn’t it be? Sooner or later, you need to talk to him anyways, so you might as well do it now.” Akane gives her girlfriend a reassuring smile and reaches over Yuuka’s head to knock at the door in her stead. Of course, she doesn’t want to see the principal at all, but she knows this conversation will have to happen sooner better than later.

Once she has received permission, Yuuka pushes the door open and Akane steers her wheelchair into the office, stopping in front of the headmaster's desk. “Hello father,” Yuuka starts, her voice a little tense. “I’m back.”

The principal’s eyebrows furrow slightly. “The doctor said you were supposed to stay in the hospital for three more days. Our driver was supposed to pick you up on that day.”

“I know, but I was feeling great and so they let me go early.” Yuuka lets out a small sigh. “I’m here because I want to talk about Akane. Please do not kick her out of the school, she is supposed to finish her education here.”

Her father’s expression darkens a little more. “Moriya will not be expelled, but you’d better keep your friends in check, Yuuka.”

“M-my friends?” Yuuka stares at him in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“Habu, Saito and Koike are becoming quite impudent. Tell them to keep it down from now on.”

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and concern, Yuuka nods slightly. “Yes… I will. I’m sorry for whatever they said to you.”  _ Even though you probably deserved it _ \- but she doesn’t want to make her father any angrier, in case that leads to him expelling Akane after all.

“Also,” the principal continues, his voice strict, “this does not mean that your mother and I support this… relationship of yours in any way. I simply decided not to expel Moriya because it would be bad for the school’s and my reputation.”

“Yes, I understand. Thank you very much.” Akane bows deeply, even though she feels like every fiber of her body is bristling with disgust.

Neither Yuuka nor her father say anything else, so the Vice President murmurs a quiet ‘we’ll be taking our leave then’ and pushes Yuuka’s wheelchair out of the office.

As soon as they are outside, Yuuka turns her head to look up at Akane with worry in her eyes. “What do you think they said to him?” she asks, her nervousness clearly audible.

“I don’t know, they didn’t tell me either. But this is definitely concerning,” Akane agrees, glancing at her wristwatch as she pushes Yuuka down the hallway. “They should be in class now, so let’s wait until they’re done with that in your room.”

“Can we go to the Student Council office?”

“No, you’re still supposed to rest.” Not giving Yuuka the opportunity to argue, Akane steers the wheelchair back to the elevator and presses the button for their floor.

They can still talk to their friends later; for now, Akane wants to give her girlfriend a chance to rest and get used to her new situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Here](https://twitter.com/_satoshioris/status/1332986121731575808) is a thread on Twitter where I talk about my thoughts about this AU and where I'll post updates!
> 
> The warnings in the tags don't apply to all chapters; when they apply, it will be mentioned in an author's note.


	9. 07

The announcement that Yuuka is back in the school seems to take a weight off everyone’s shoulders. Of course, the school can function just fine without her, but things certainly feel more normal now that her and Akane are back. Even the first-year students notice this; it no longer feels like all hell will break loose just because one student looked at another in the wrong way.

Even so, the atmosphere is still a little odd. During Yuuka’s first speech after her return, in which she simply thanks everyone for waiting for her and for not burdening her friends by causing any trouble, Hikaru is one of the students who gather their courage and raise their hands to ask a question. “Do you already know what caused the accident?”

That is a better phrasing than ‘who sabotaged the tournament?’ but Yuuka shakes her head, her expression calm and serious. “It was an accident and nothing more than that. I heard that some of you assumed someone might have sabotaged the tournament, but that is not the case. First and foremost, it was not a student from this school.”

A murmur rises in the crowd of students. ‘How can she be so sure of that?’ - ‘I still think Watanabe-san has something to do with it.’ - ‘If she says she doesn’t know what caused the accident, then why is she convinced that it wasn’t Watanabe?’

“I wonder why she’s protecting Watanabe-senpai,” Karin softly mutters to herself, knowing that Seki and Ten, who are standing at her left and right, can hear her. “Aren’t they… enemies or something?”

“I think Watanabe-senpai is the only one considering Sugai-senpai her enemy,” Seki responds hesitantly. “Sugai-senpai doesn’t seem to hate her that much.”

“But Karin’s right,” Ten adds, a slight frown on her face. “I wouldn’t want to defend someone who hates me that much.”

The three of them fall silent, but someone else speaks up. “Isn’t it because she feels guilty?” This is the first time Riko says something that is beneficial to their understanding of the situation, so all three girls stare at her in mild surprise.

“Why does she feel guilty?” Karin asks, half to test Riko and half because she’s actually not completely sure.

But her roommate simply shrugs and shakes her head. “I don’t know, that’s just what I heard. You guys are way more into this than I am, so why didn’t you know?” With that, she returns her attention to Yuuka on the stage.

Karin, Seki and Ten share a skeptical glance; once again, Riko has exhibited strange behavior. “Of course she wouldn’t know,” Ten whispers under her breath, mildly frustrated.

“Don’t be mad at her.” Seki pats her roommate’s shoulder briefly.

“I’m not, it’s just a little frustrating. Nobody knows what’s going on anymore.”

That much is true, but Yuuka does not give any further information that might be useful for them. Thus, they leave the gym without having learned anything of much importance.

It is already late in the afternoon because Yuuka asked the students to come to the gym after the end of their club activities, so everyone heads straight to the dining hall for dinner. Once again, the atmosphere feels a little odd, this time because most students cannot believe that Yuuka puts so much trust in Risa - the girl who hates her the most in the entire school.

Karin hates the atmosphere in the dining hall, so she tries to eat a little quicker than normal and then excuses herself, hurrying back to her and Riko’s room. It obviously is a lot quieter and calmer there, and she feels like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders when she closes the door and leans against it. After a few moments of just leaning against the door in silence, she sits down on her bed, her back leaning against the wall, and takes the book she has been reading lately - it is a book that one of the teachers asked the first-year students to read for his class, and she hasn’t finished it yet. It is not particularly interesting, but good enough to pass the time until Riko comes back to their room.

Her roommate doesn’t make Karin wait a long time. The short-haired girl has barely finished reading a chapter and a half of her book before the door opens and Riko comes in. “Hi, Karin.”

“Hey.” As usual, Karin is rather taciturn. She wants to return her focus to her book, but Riko is already coming closer to her bed. Ever so slightly irritated, Karin lowers the book and stares at the older girl over the edge of it. “What are you up to?”

“Haven’t you been spending a lot of time with Seki-chan lately?” There is a hint of jealousy in Riko’s voice.

A small sigh leaves Karin’s lips. “Yes. We’re getting along well, is that a problem?”

Riko’s expression turns into one of slight disappointment. “Yes. You’re not spending any time with me at all, even though I’m the one who likes you the most.”

It has been like that from the beginning of the school year; Karin has quickly learned that Riko likes her  _ a lot _ . The love is one-sided, however, and Karin has also learned that Riko can handle the rejection better than expected. “You know how I feel about you, Riko.”

“I know you don’t like me, but we’re still friends and roommates, right? Seki-chan has been taking naps with you, so won’t you let me take naps with you too?”

An alarm starts to blare in Karin’s mind; a siren yelling for her to get away when Riko steps closer and closer to her bed. “Actually, Seki-chan invited me to sleep in her room,” Karin’s tongue almost stumbles over the words with how quickly she tries to utter them. She jumps to her feet and grabs her key to the room from the nightstand, leaving her book behind on the bed. “Sorry, but I think I’ll take her up on that offer.”

Riko looks a little dejected when Karin rushes out of the room, but she doesn’t offer any protest.

The short-haired girl stops in front of the door of Seki and Ten’s room, hesitating for a moment. Seki did not actually invite her for a sleepover - Karin simply panicked a little when Riko got too close to her and ended up lying about being invited by her. Of course, she knows that Seki is too kind to kick her out, but she doesn’t want to bother her and Ten. However, Karin does end up knocking at the door in front of her because she comes to the conclusion that sleeping with Seki and Ten will lead to less teasing than asking any of her other friends if she can sleep in their room.

Ten is the one who opens the door when Karin knocks, and she looks a little surprised to see her classmate. “Karin? What are you doing here?”

“Uh, can I come in?”

The other girl nods and steps aside to let Karin in, and once the door is closed, Karin gives her two friends a slightly embarrassed smile. “Do you think I could… spend the night here?”

Ten’s eyes go wide, but Seki simply raises an eyebrow. “I’m sure that’ll be fine, but… why?”

“I… may have told Riko that you invited me for a sleepover because she was getting too close for my comfort?” Karin offers, the awkward smile still on her lips.

Ten clasps her hand over her mouth in a failed attempt to silence the short laugh that escapes her. “Was she that bad?”

“She just likes you,” Seki says softly.

“Yeah, a little too much,” Karin agrees. “So… is it okay if I sleep here? I’ll sleep on the floor and I won’t bother you at all.”

“You’re not bothering us, and you don’t have to sleep on the floor. We sleep close together all the time when we nap together, and my bed is big enough for two…” Seki trails off, a blush spreading on her and Karin’s cheeks.

Ten watches them with an ever so slightly irritated expression. “Oh my god, please don’t kiss in front of me, I’m a minor - and so are you, for that matter.”

“W-what?” The word comes out a lot more high-pitched than Karin’s voice normally is. She exchanges a shocked glance with Seki and shakes her head rapidly. “No, we’re not going to kiss!”

“Well, that’s good then.” Ten turns around to take a pillow from her bed and throws it at Karin. “Here, take this. You can use it tonight.”

Seki smiles softly, seemingly relieved to see that Ten is not going to kick Karin out. “Thank you, Ten-chan.”

“It’s fine, as long as you don’t… do anything weird.”

“Hey, it’s not like we’re dating or anything,” Karin protests, a hint of genuine shock in her voice.

Ten shows the two of them an ok sign, a wide grin on her lips. “Good. I’ll leave you two alone for a bit, see you later.” She waves her hand at them and picks up her pajamas as she heads towards the bathroom to get ready for bed.

Seki walks over to her wardrobe and takes out a nightgown, offering it to Karin. “Here, you can wear this tonight if you want… after all, I don’t think you want to go back to your own room right now.”

The younger girl smiles thankfully. “You’re right about that. Thanks, I owe you and Ten something.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

“I could invite you to one of my dad’s restaurants during the holidays or something.”

“Won’t the others get jealous if you do that? You really don’t need to worry about it.”

Karin smiles wryly; Seki certainly has a point there. It still feels a little wrong to bother the two other girls like this, especially since Seki is apparently planning to share her bed with her, but maybe it is better to move on to a different topic for the time being.

Ten soon returns in her pajamas and Karin and Seki head to the bathroom to get ready for bed after her. When they go to bed, Seki lies as close to the wall as possible to make room for Karin.

“I don’t know… is this really okay?” the short-haired girl mutters, still a little hesitant.

“Ye-”

Before Seki can answer properly, Ten places her hand between Karin’s shoulder blades and pushes the older girl forward until her knees hit the edge of Seki’s mattress. “She already said it was okay, right?” With that, Ten steps back towards the door, her hand hovering over the light switch so she can turn off the light.

With a sigh, Karin lies down on Seki’s bed, making sure to leave some space between herself and the older girl. “Thank you, Seki-chan.”

“It’s not a problem. Good night, Karin-chan, Ten-chan.”

“Good night,” the two younger girls echo in unison, and then Ten switches off the light and returns to her bed.

* * *

“Akane, no,” Yuuka whispers, her hands on her girlfriend’s shoulders as if to push her back, but she cannot bring herself to actually do it. “Not here…”

“Shh, you’re in no position to say no,” the other girl grins before she leans in and presses her lips against Yuuka’s gently.

They’re in a secluded hallway of the school building, Akane on her knees so that she can be on eye level with Yuuka who still has to sit in a wheelchair. Yuuka was unable to resist when Akane suddenly turned around and pushed her wheelchair into this hallway, and even though her heart still clenches at the thought of other students seeing them together, she feels oddly happy when Akane kisses her.

Akane’s eyes fall closed as they’re kissing, and Yuuka wants to close her eyes and lose herself in the kiss as well, but something stops her. She forces herself to push Akane back gently, a hint of nervousness in her eyes. “Akane, we can’t, I feel like someone is watching us.”

The Vice President opens her eyes, instantly looking a little annoyed. “Wait for me here,” she says, as if Yuuka could move very far away on her own, and turns around to look for whoever it is that was watching them.

Akane disappears around the corner of the hallway and suddenly, Yuuka hears a yelp before her girlfriend returns, dragging with her a girl who seems to be in her first year, judging by her necktie. “We’re going to the Student Council office,” the Vice President announces strictly, taking Yuuka’s hand and closing it around the younger girl’s wrist. “Help me out here, okay, Yuuka?” With that, she starts to push Yuuka’s wheelchair down the hallway towards the office.

Confused, Yuuka looks up at the younger girl who is stumbling along with them with a shocked expression in her face. “Akane… what-”

“We’ll talk about this in the office. And don’t let go of her, what if she runs away and tells everyone about us?” Akane glares down at her girlfriend when she sees Yuuka’s grip on the first-year student’s wrist loosening slightly.

Realizing that her girlfriend is right, Yuuka slowly tightens her grip on the girl’s wrist again. She feels a little sorry for this girl who probably had no bad intentions, if her confused expression is anything to go by, but maybe Akane has a point; if this girl saw them kiss, they need to make sure she doesn’t reveal their secret.

They arrive in the Student Council office with the girl offering no resistance - she could have easily run away since Yuuka is unable to walk and Akane would be held back by the wheelchair for a few seconds - and the Vice President locks the door, causing the younger girl to wince slightly. “What’s your name?” Akane asks, her voice a little sharp.

“...Yamasaki Ten.” The younger student looks at her hesitantly. “Uh, what are you…”

“No, I’m the one who asks the questions,” Akane interrupts her, not even letting Ten finish her question. “You were watching us. What exactly did you see?”

Ten seems to shrink ever so slightly. “I… you two were kissing…”

Akane sighs in frustration and rubs her forehead. “If you tell anyone about what you saw, you’ll be-”

“Akane, don’t threaten her.” Yuuka speaks up for the first time, her voice gentle but a little strict. “There are other ways to deal with this.”

“But I need to make sure-”

“ _ Akane _ ,” Yuuka repeats, her voice slightly more urgent now. Then, she turns her head to look at Ten. “Yamasaki-chan, right? Can I call you that?”

Seeming a little intimidated, the younger girl just nods.

“Good. Yamasaki-chan, as you may have understood already, Akane and I can’t really allow anyone to know about our relationship.” Seeing the nervousness in Ten’s eyes, Yuuka lets out a soft sigh. “Don’t worry, we’re not going to kick you out of the school or anything. I would just like to ask you to stay close to Akane and me for a while, so that we can make sure you’re not telling anyone.”

Ten hesitates for a moment. “And I really have to…?”

Yuuka’s eyebrows furrow slightly. “We really can’t afford anyone finding out about us. It’s bad enough that my parents know we’re dating… if anyone else finds out, Akane will most likely get expelled.”

After another moment of hesitation, the younger girl gives in with a nod, realizing that she doesn’t really have much of a choice. “Fine then. I’ll hang out with you two for a while.”

“It’s not about hanging out with us, it’s about-”

“Thank you, Yamasaki-chan,” Yuuka interrupts her girlfriend with a sigh of relief, a smile now forming on her lips. “I’m glad you understand.”

Ten smiles awkwardly. “So… how are you going to do this? You’re in a different year than me, we can’t go to class together…”

Akane snorts. “Oh, don’t worry, we’ll know when you tell someone.”

“Akane,” Yuuka sighs again; she doesn’t really see a point in trying to intimidate Ten so much. The younger girl doesn’t seem to have any bad intentions, so she feels like she has to find a balance between her own willingness to trust Ten and Akane’s distrust. “You don’t need to try to scare her so much. We won’t go to class together, Yamasaki-chan, but I’d appreciate it if we could meet up during the breaks.”

The younger girl nods slightly. “Yes. I suppose you don’t want me to tell my friends that I’m gonna hang out with you?”

“Maybe you can tell them that I asked you to help me out with something,” Yuuka smiles wryly as she gestures at her wheelchair. “That should be kind of believable, don’t you think?”

Ten gives her a smile that already seems ever so slightly more relaxed than her previous one. “I’ll give that a try.”

It is evening already, so Yuuka lets her leave with the promise to meet again after breakfast the next morning, just before their classes start.

Seki notices how her roommate seems a little restless as soon as the younger girl enters their shared room to drop off her school bag before dinner. She may be quiet most of the time, but she certainly is observant. “Is everything alright, Ten?”

“Oh, everything is perfect.” The answer comes a bit too fast and too cheerfully, but Ten simply continues talking as if nothing was off about her behavior. “I just got a little lost in the book I was reading in the library.”

Seki’s eyebrows furrow, as if she could tell that this is a lie, but she doesn’t question it for the time being. “Alright. Was it a good book?”

“Yes, it was great.” Ten doesn’t bother trying to come up with the title of a book. She doesn’t read often enough to know any good titles off the top of her head, and there is a chance Seki might realize that whatever she says is not a real, existing book.

Her roommate nods and puts on a small smile. “Alright then,” she says, even though she does sound a little defeated; as if she had hoped for Ten to trust her more. “I see.”

Ten almost feels a little bad for her because this has nothing to do with her trust - she does trust her roommate, but it was Yuuka’s wish to keep their ‘arrangement’ a secret after all. “Uhm, I’m not gonna be able to hang out with you and the others as much for a while,” she decides to warn Seki.

The other girl raises an eyebrow. “Why is that?”

“I… Sugai-senpai asked me to help her out with something, so I’ll have to spend some time with the Student Council. Hikaru already knows too, I met her on my way here” A part of her wonders if Seki realizes that she’s lying, but if she does notice, the taller girl doesn’t try to pry any further.

“Alright.” Again, Seki’s brows knit together in what seems to be slight worry this time. “Just… we still don’t know exactly what happened, right? So please try not to get involved in anything weird.”

Ten smiles weakly as she nods in agreement. “Yeah, I won’t.”

* * *

Hikaru meets Kobayashi Yui in an empty classroom near the library for the lack of a better place because Yui’s roommate is in their bedroom and Yui doesn’t want to talk about this in front of her. Yui gives Hikaru a small smile when she approaches her, glancing at the clock that hangs above the blackboard. “I have an hour until Risa’s practice ends.”

“You always meet her after that, don’t you?”

“Well, I’m one of her only actual friends.” Yui smiles wryly. “But we’re not here to talk about that. I know I promised to tell you if I find out anything new, but that actually hasn’t really happened.”

Hikaru’s expression turns a little disappointed. “Oh… well, I suppose that’s fine. It doesn’t seem like anyone here likes to talk about that incident anyways.” She has tried to ask a few of the third-year students if they can tell her anything about the ‘Hirate incident,’ but all of them have shaken their heads and murmured half-hearted apologies.

Yui’s eyebrows furrow slightly, but then she goes on, “But I think there’s something important that you might not be aware of yet. Hirate-san, Sugai-san and Risa… they all were friends back then.”

“They were?” Hikaru takes out her notepad and jots down the three names, drawing a circle around them which she titles ‘friends.’ “I really wasn’t aware of that yet.”

“Sugai-san and Moriya-san were roommates back then, and apparently Sugai-san was supportive of the idea of Hirate-san being the President. All of them were friends with Hirate-san… the two of them, Risa, Manaka-san, Nagahama-san.”

The younger girl perks up. “Who are Manaka-san and Nagahama-san?”

For a split second, it is silent before Yui decides on what to answer. “Manaka-san was Hirate-san’s best friend and Risa’s roommate, and Nagahama-san was Hirate-san’s roommate.” There is no reason to mention the fact that Manaka and Risa were a couple; that piece of information, she is sure, is not relevant to the incident.

“Can I meet them? Maybe they know something…”

“No, you can’t.”

Hikaru’s eyes go wide, her heart clenching with disappointment. “What? But you said you’d help me find out what happened, so why are you saying no…”

Yui lets out a soft sigh. “Because you can’t meet them, nobody can. They left the school together with Hirate-san. Even Risa hasn’t heard anything from them since then.” If they were still in the school, she would already have asked them what they know herself. If Manaka in particular was still there, maybe Yui would never even have felt tempted to fall in love with Risa.

“And nobody knows where they are now?”

“Nobody knows, no. I don’t think anyone here in the school knows what Hirate-san did after leaving the hospital… or if she ever left the hospital at all.”

“Are you saying she might be… dead…?”

The older girl pauses for a moment, carefully thinking about how to respond to that. She enrolled in the school after Yurina left and not once has she heard anyone talk about the girl’s current state - which only makes sense because the students of Sakurazaka Gakuen are cut off from the world outside of it.

This is their corner of the world, where nothing that happens outside matters.

“I’m not saying she might be dead, I’m saying I have no idea what state she’s in. I don’t want to hear any rumors about this spread, Morita-san.” Yui’s voice becomes strict.

That comment causes Hikaru to flinch ever so slightly. “I’m not going to spread any rumors, don’t worry. It’s just… my curiosity isn’t exactly satisfied with this.”

In reaction to that, a wry smile spreads on Yui’s lips. “Oh, I know. It’s not like I’m satisfied with it either, but that’s all I can tell you about Hirate-san. I’ve never met her in person after all.”

“I know.” Hikaru lets out a small sigh. “I’m sorry I’m relying on you so much for this.”

“No, it’s fine… after all, I want to know what happened too.” The older girl clears her throat. “So, there’s something I’ve been thinking about. If Sugai-san and Hirate-san were friends, then why would Sugai-san push her off the roof? No matter how badly she must have wanted to become the Student Council President, it shouldn’t have been necessary to go that far… and on top of that, she doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would do something like that.”

Hikaru nods eagerly. “That’s exactly what I thought when you said they were friends. I mean… did she really want to become President so badly that she needed to…”

“Right. So I was thinking… what if she didn’t push Hirate-san?”

Hikaru’s eyes narrow slightly. “You’re the one who said Risa-senpai saw Sugai-senpai push her.”

Yui gives her an affirmative nod, her expression serious. “I did say that, but I just told you what Risa told me. But what if, just hypothetically speaking, Risa saw what she  _ wanted _ to see and Sugai-san wasn’t actually pushing Hirate-san?”

“But then what would she have been doing? You said her hand was outstretched.”

“And what else do you have to stretch out your hand for when someone is falling off a roof in front of you?”

Silence falls over them for a few moments until Hikaru realizes what Yui is trying to say. “You mean… Sugai-senpai might have tried to save Hirate-san?”

The older girl claps her hands once, clearly satisfied with the conclusion that Hikaru came to. “I’d have to talk to her to find out if that’s actually what happened… but judging by the type of person she seems to be, I think it’s definitely a possibility.”

A more likely possibility than that of Yuuka actually pushing Yurina off the roof - that thought hangs in the air unspoken. They exchange a serious glance before Yui lets out a defeated sigh. “Well, but that’s not a question Risa can answer because she wouldn’t admit that her interpretation of everything might be wrong. So unless Sugai-san changes her mind and opens up about the incident, we’re probably not going to find out if I’m right.”

Hikaru can only agree with that, knowing that they have come to a point where only the Student Council members will be able to help them progress - and the probability of them finding a Student Council member who will actually tell them something useful is very low. “I suppose you have a point there.”

Like that, their conversation trails off because they realize that this is all they know for the time being. Eventually, Yui notices that Risa’s volleyball practice is likely almost over. “I’m sorry, but I think I should go now. I’d like to take my bag to my room before I pick Risa up.”

Albeit reluctant, Hikaru nods in agreement. “Alright, of course. I hope we can talk again soon.”

A smile spreads on Yui’s lips. “Me too. If you need me for anything, I’m usually in the music room between class and the end of club hour.”

“Yes, thank you.” Hikaru watches the older girl leave with a small sigh; then she gets up from her chair and leaves the empty classroom as well. She is lost in her thoughts as she heads back to the room that she shares with Hono; it feels like the conversation with Yui has opened up more new questions than it has answered old ones.

On her way to the stairs, Hikaru walks past the Student Council office and her eyebrows rise slowly when the door opens right after she has walked past it; Ten walks out of the office and calls a ‘bye then’ over her shoulder before closing the door and turning to walk away.

“Uh, Ten-chan?” The shorter girl clears her throat.

Ten’s eyes go wide, an expression of genuine surprise on her face. “Hi- Hikaru?”

“What were you doing in there?” Hikaru asks curiously as they start to head towards the stairs together.

The younger girl starts to fidget with her hands. “Nothing.”

“You didn’t get in trouble or anything like that, did you?”

“What? No, that’s not it, not at all.” Ten sighs quietly; Hikaru is her classmate and friend, and it feels bad to lie to her. “I… the President asked me to help her out with something.” That is at least close enough to the truth that she doesn’t feel as bad as before.

Hikaru seems yet a little more intrigued. “That’s interesting. Why would she ask you out of all the students of this school?”

Ten frowns slightly. “Why not? We met in the hallway a couple of days ago, it was a coincidence. And now I’m helping her out. That’s all.” That is all she can tell Hikaru; after all, she promised to keep Yuuka and Akane’s relationship a secret.

That answer doesn’t seem to satisfy the shorter girl completely, but Hikaru does not continue to question her classmate for the time being. Instead, she moves on to a slightly different question that has risen in her mind. “So, how close are you to them?”

“You mean… Sugai-san and Moriya-san? Not really that close, I just talked to them for the first time today, so it’s not like we’re friends or anything…” Ten trails off, her eyes narrowing when she realizes what Hikaru might be trying to say.

Indeed, the older girl pushes on, “But do you think they’d answer your questions if you had any?”

For a moment, Ten is silent; then she shakes her head. “I don’t want to ask them any questions, Hikaru. And even if I did, I don’t think they’d answer them.” At least, they most likely would not answer any questions about Hirate Yurina. Ten is not willing to ask them anything that might potentially make Akane hate her for good.

Hikaru gives in with a sigh, seemingly accepting that she will not be able to convince Ten to have that conversation with Yuuka and Akane for the time being. “Alright. Then… will you at least tell me what they’re like? Are they nice?”

The taller girl hesitates for a split second but then nods. “Sugai-san is very kind… and Moriya-san is nice too.”

“Too nice to push someone off a roof?”

“...well, I don’t know much about them, but… yeah, so far I wouldn’t expect them to do something like that.” Akane is a little scary, but so far, she has done nothing to make Ten think she would physically hurt someone that badly.

“Then maybe…” Hikaru trails off and shakes her head when she sees Ten’s skeptical expression. “Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about an idea Kobayashi-senpai had.”

“Ah.” Ten lets out a small sound of understanding. Finally, they stand on the floor that their rooms are on, and she stops in front of the door of her own room. “Well, I’m gonna go drop off my bag before dinner. And no, I’m not asking Sugai-san and Moriya-san anything that will make them hate me.”

Her classmate nods, smiling a little. “I know, that’s okay.”

The fact that she gave up so quickly makes Ten feel a little suspicious, but the younger girl decides not to question it for the time being. Instead, she waves at Hikaru and mutters a quick ‘see you later then’ before unlocking the door to her room and stepping inside.

Hikaru stands in the hallway for a few moments, staring at the door of Ten and Seki’s room in silence. Then, she lets out a quiet sigh and heads to her own room to drop off her bag as well, deciding to keep an eye out for how close Ten gets to Yuuka and Akane.

* * *

\- 1.5 years earlier -

_ “Thank you very much for trusting me. I will work hard to make everyone proud.” _

_ Yuuka feels almost sick as she finishes her inauguration speech with that sentence and bows. There was no trust involved in her ‘election.’ If anything, she broke her friends’ trust by not telling them what she knows. She has to stay calm until she leaves the stage, she knows that, but her hands clench to fists around the soft, white fabric of her school uniform anyways. When her father, the principal, hands her the badge that the Student Council President always wears during important events, a satisfied grin on his lips, Yuuka refuses to look at his face. _

_ The applause that fills the hall is subdued and hesitant. Not everyone was aware of the fact that Hirate Yurina was bullied, not everyone was aware of the fact that the bullies did not want her to become the President, but everyone does know at this point that Yuuka was on the roof when Yurina fell - Risa has made sure of that. _

_ Her hand clenching tightly around the badge, Yuuka decides not to put it on her uniform like she is supposed to. It would not feel right; none of this feels right. _

_ “What are you doing?” her father hisses at her under his breath, his satisfied expression seeming a little forced now. _

_ That, in return, eases Yuuka’s mind ever so slightly - it assures her that she still has the power to resist him even in small things like this. “I’m exhausted, I would like to leave,” she retorts just as quietly, not answering his question. “Have a nice afternoon, father.” _

_ Akane follows her off the stage. She was introduced as the Vice President already and it would normally be expected of her to stay behind and represent the Student Council in the President’s stead, but she does not pay that fact any mind. Instead, she takes a few long steps to catch up with Yuuka who is hurrying down the pathway that connects the gym and the school building. “Yuuka, wait.” _

_ “Akane…” Yuuka stops in her tracks and closes her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have run away like that, but I couldn’t stand how happy he looked.” _

_ “I know.” Akane heaves a sigh and turns to look back at the gym. “It’s fine. I mean, not for him, probably, but you shouldn’t pay so much attention to him.” _

_ “That’s not how it works… he’s my father, and the principal.” Yuuka sounds defeated, a sad smile on her lips. “If I don’t pay attention to him, he has ways to hurt me.” _

_ “Yeah, but just… don’t think about that for now. You just fulfilled one of his biggest wishes, if he has even the smallest bit of love for you then I don’t think he’ll try to hurt you in any way right now.” The younger girl puts her arm around Yuuka’s waist and starts to lead her back towards the room they share. _

_ Yuuka follows her without putting up any resistance, but she still seems hesitant. “Are you sure it’ll be fine? I… feel like I’m going to regret all this.” _

_ Akane stops walking for a moment and places her hands on her roommate’s shoulders, grinning. “Well, at least being the President will be a nice addition to your resume, don’t you think?” _

_ The older girl’s worried expression breaks slowly, making way for a weak smile. “You have a point there.” _

_ “See, so at least you’re getting something out of this too. And now let’s go.” _

_ They make their way back to their room. The school building is quiet because all students were taken to the gym to watch Yuuka’s inauguration; even a cameraman was there to inform the entire nation that Sugai Yuuka is now the Student Council President of the prestigious Sakurazaka Gakuen. The inaugurations have always been filmed and broadcasted on TV in exchange for a large sum of money that goes to the TV station responsible, but now Yuuka wonders for the first time if her father set up that tradition solely for the day she would become the President - so that he could play it off as a tradition rather than his greed for a better reputation. _

_ Akane closes the door and locks it while Yuuka heads over to the bed and flops down on top of it. _

_ They don’t go to dinner that evening. Yuuka knows that the atmosphere in the dining room must be incredibly awkward, and she also knows that her presence would only make it worse. In addition, neither her nor Akane is actually hungry, so they decide to stay in their room and try to forget about everything that happened. _

_ Once it is dark in their room and they are trying to go to sleep, however, the bad thoughts return to Yuuka’s mind. “Akane,” she whispers, telling herself that it’s fine if Akane is already asleep and doesn’t respond. _

_ However, the younger girl does respond, and she does not sound sleepy in the least. “Yeah?” _

_ “What if everyone hates me now? What if they’re all on Risa’s side? I understand her feelings, but… I don’t want them to hate me.” _

_ It is silent for a moment, and then Yuuka hears the quiet rustling of Akane’s bedsheets and the soft padding of her roommate’s bare feet on the fluffy carpet. And then, Yuuka’s blanket is pulled back; a body slips into her bed and she feels cool feet pressing against her shins and only slightly warmer hands caress her cheeks. “If they hate you,” Akane starts, her voice gentle but serious, “then I’ll protect you from anything they might try to do.” _

_ Yuuka’s breath catches in her throat and she opens her mouth to give a more-or-less-appropriate response, but she is silenced before she can even utter the smallest sound. _

_ By the feeling of Akane’s soft lips pressing against hers. _

_ If their friends knew that they are kissing right now, they would get to hear comments like ‘Finally! We’ve been waiting for one of you to confess for ages!’ - but their friends are not here. It is only the two of them in this dark room where they can barely even make out each other’s faces, and so when Akane breaks the kiss, Yuuka wraps her arms around her roommate’s shoulders and pulls her in for another one. By the time they pull apart, their faces are red and hot with embarrassment, but neither of them speaks a single word as Akane pulls Yuuka’s head to rest in the crook of her neck. _

_ That night, Yuuka sleeps more soundly than she ever has before since entering the school. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Here](https://twitter.com/_satoshioris/status/1332986121731575808) is a thread on Twitter where I talk about my thoughts about this AU and where I'll post updates!
> 
> The warnings in the tags don't apply to all chapters; when they apply, it will be mentioned in an author's note.


	10. 08

It feels like Ten is now keeping a big secret.

It most likely  _ is _ like that, too; apparently nobody, with the exception of the Student Council members, was officially informed of Yuuka and Akane being a couple. Ten just so happened to see them kiss, and she doesn’t quite know if she regrets that or not.

The first time Ten comes to the Student Council office is on the day after she saw Yuuka and Akane kiss, after their afternoon classes - just like Yuuka asked her to when they briefly met up after breakfast that day. The other students are heading to their club meetings now, and Ten waves at her friends and heads to the office by herself. In front of the door, she pauses for a moment, but then she knocks at it and opens the door slowly.

“Yamasaki-chan,” Yuuka greets her with a soft smile, looking a little relieved. “Thank you for coming.”

Ten nods cautiously and steps into the room, closing the door again as she does so. “So… what am I supposed to do here?”

Akane looks up from whatever she is working on on her desk. “Your homework.”

Ten’s eyebrows furrow, pushing her lips forward into a pout. “Do I have to?”

Slowly, one of Akane’s eyebrows rises. “Yes. It needs to be done, anyways.” She raises her arm, pointing at an apparently unused desk at the back of the room.

“I don’t wanna…” Her eyes following Akane’s finger, Ten lets out a disappointed sigh. “I’m not in the mood for homework.”

One of the other girls gets up from the chair she was sitting on; at second glance, Ten recognizes Koike Minami, who, as far as she knows, is the youngest Student Council member. Minami stops just in front of Ten and brings up one hand, slowly opening it to reveal a piece of candy to the younger girl. “You can have more if you want. If you do your homework.” Her voice is quiet, as if she knows Akane is going to scold her for offering this to Ten.

Ten stares down at the candy, then she looks up towards Akane across Minami’s shoulder. Finally, she takes the piece of candy from the older girl’s hand and walks over to the unused desk in silence.

Akane’s eyes narrow. “What did you do, Mii-chan?”

Minami chuckles, giving her friend an amused smile. “Nothing, don’t worry about it. Aren’t you happy Yamasaki-chan agreed to do her homework?”

After a moment of skeptical silence, Akane sighs and nods slightly. “Alright then.”

Ten’s lips are still pursed when she opens her schoolbag and takes out her books, but when her eyes land on the candy Minami gave her for a moment, she lets out a sigh and reaches into her bag to take out a pen as well.

For a while, all of them work on their homework and documents in silence. Eventually, Ten clears her throat, looking up from her exercise book. “Uhm…”

All the Student Council members look over at her in an instant, causing the youngest girl to blush in slight embarrassment. “I… uh, I was wondering if one of you could help me with this.” She points at one of her maths exercises, one of her most hated subjects.

Minami gets up and peeks over Ten’s shoulder, a small smile spreading on her lips. “I think Akane should take a look at this.”

“Me? But you’re already standing next to her and I’m busy,” Akane protests, her eyes widening a little.

Minami stops in her tracks as she returns to her own desk, leaning close to Akane. “I think you and Yamasaki-chan are in dire need of some team building exercises.”

“What are you even-”

“This is your chance to become a kind senpai rather than the scary Vice President. Go and make use of it.” Minami elbows her friend with a grin and returns to her desk, giving Yuuka a thumbs-up on the way.

Yuuka watches them with a soft smile. “Please, Akane. I’d appreciate it a lot.”

Akane hesitates for a moment, but then she gets up and walks over towards Ten. “Fine then. What’s your problem?”

Ten looks up at her skeptically at first, but then points at one of the tasks in her book. “I don’t understand that one.”

“Ah…” Akane’s eyebrows furrow, but then her expression seems to relax slightly. “I used to struggle with that kind of problem too. See, this is what you have to do…” She picks up a pencil and starts to note down an exemplary explanation with easier numbers than the ones in the book.

This causes a wider smile to spread on Yuuka’s lips. She knows that most of the younger students see Akane solely as the scary and strict Vice President, but Ten seems to be different; albeit skeptical at first, she seems to be giving the real Akane a chance.

Ten actually seems to understand what Akane is trying to convey to her, and by the time Yuuka finishes her own homework and documents, the first-year student seems to have correctly solved her problems.

“Akanen.” Only their friends and Ten are here to hear her, so Yuuka decides to call her girlfriend by her nickname. “I think we can stop here for today.”

Akane looks up and nods slightly. “Alright. Yamasaki, are you done with your homework?”

Ten nods, her eyes wandering towards Minami briefly. The second-year student smiles and reaches into her pocket, taking out and holding up another two pieces of candy. Ten gets up from her chair and walks over to Minami, accepting the candy with a small smile as she mutters a shy ‘thank you.’

“Mii-chan,” Akane groans, finally understanding what Minami said to Ten earlier. “You’re not supposed to bribe her with candy.”

“But it worked, didn’t it? Yamasaki-chan did her homework.”

“Eating too much candy isn’t healthy. Yamasaki, next time she offers you some, don’t accept it.”

Ten purses her lips, pouting as she sighs. “Fine…”

Akane nods in satisfaction, starting to put her belongings into her bag. Then she gets up, heading over towards Yuuka. “Are you ready?” Upon receiving an affirmative nod, she pulls Yuuka’s wheelchair back and away from the President’s desk.

Ten watches a bit uncertainly as the older girls leave their desks. “And… what about me…?”

Yuuka shifts in her wheelchair to look back at the younger girl. “Well, I’d invite you to come with us, but you probably want to go back to your friends. You can go and spend time with them if you want, just please…”

“I know, I won’t tell them that Moriya-senpai kissed you.” As she picks up her bag and heads towards the door, Ten feels Akane’s eyes on her, but the Vice President doesn’t say anything. “Then… I’ll come back here tomorrow?”

“That would be great. Have a nice afternoon, Yamasaki-chan.”

“You too, senpai.” Ten gives the older girls a small nod and slips past them out of the room, taking long steps down the hallway towards the staircase. She finds her and Seki’s room empty when she stops by there to drop off her bag, but that only makes sense; their group of friends often hangs out together after class after all, and especially since Seki seems to have been getting closer to Karin lately, Ten did not really expect her roommate to be in their room.

After hesitating for a moment, the young girl lets herself fall on top of her bed, stretching out her arms to the sides with a heavy sigh. Closing her eyes, she starts to recapitulate to herself what happened this afternoon. Much to her surprise, everyone in the Student Council was nice to her, especially Minami and Yuuka; and even Akane does not seem to be as bad of a person as some students make her seem to be.

Lost in her thoughts, she doesn’t notice how the door to the room opens and then sits up when two girls stare down at her. “Oh… Karin? What are you doing here?”

Of course, Seki is Ten’s roommate so seeing her here is not a surprise, but even after spending the night here once, Karin almost never comes to their room. The short-haired girl smiles wryly. “Seki-chan invited me, but I’ll leave soon anyways.”

“No no, you can stay. You’re not bothering me.” Ten lies back down on her bed, but she still feels Seki and Karin’s eyes on her. “Is anything wrong?”

“That’s what I wanted to ask you.” Seki’s voice is quiet, but serious. “You helped the President today, right? And now you’re… like this.”

Ten hesitates for a split second, but then she puts on a smile and shakes her head. “Don’t worry, nothing happened.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” Her hand darts into her pocket and pulls out one of the pieces of candy that Minami gave her.

Seki raises an eyebrow - this is a brand of candy that she has never seen Ten eat before - but then she returns her attention to Karin, telling herself that Ten will let her know if she wants to tell her anything.

* * *

An aspect of their school life that everyone forgot about due to Sugai Yuuka’s accident is the school festival. Nobody is in the mood for it, either, but the students’ parents are invited for the occasion, so the festival cannot be cancelled.

Kobayashi Yui is not in the mood to celebrate anything either, but she makes a decision - to confess her feelings to Risa before the end of the school festival. When she hears from Aoi that Minami said they were struggling to find people willing to perform for the festival since everyone was too distracted to practice, Yui heads to the Student Council office one afternoon to tell the President that she would be willing to perform.

She goes there without Risa this time, wanting to avoid another heated discussion with Akane, and when she steps into the office she is surprised to find the usually empty desk at the back of the room occupied. “Hello, Sugai-san- oh, do you have a new member?”

Yuuka gives her a small smile. “Hello, Kobayashi-chan. No, Yamasaki-chan is just…” She trails off, apparently not quite sure how to explain the presence of an ‘outsider’ in the office.

But Yui already comes to a realization as she looks at the long-haired girl in the back of the room. “Isn’t she friends with Morita-chan?”

Ten winces and lifts a finger to her lips, her expression pleading. “Don’t tell her that I’m still here, please? She’ll wonder why it’s taking me so long to help Sugai-senpai.”

Yui’s eyebrows rise slowly, but then she nods. “All of us have our little secrets,” she agrees, “so I won’t judge you for having your own. Sugai-san, I’m here because I’d like to perform in the school festival.”

“Oh, really?” Yuuka seems almost relieved to hear that; whether it is because Yui is not questioning Ten’s presence or because she wants to perform when nobody else does, Yui cannot tell. “That’s great to hear. It’s been a little hard to find performers for the festival.”

“I heard that, yeah.” Yui’s eyes dart over to Minami who gives her a wry smile. “Everything has been… quite chaotic lately, hasn’t it?”

Yuuka nods and wants to give a response, but she is interrupted by the noise of the phone that sits on her desk ringing. “Yes?” She picks up the call, and only moments later her eyes go wide. “Yes, that’s right. I see… that is good to hear. Thank you very much. No, that is not necessary. Right. Thank you, goodbye.”

When she hangs up, all eyes are on her. “It was nothing important,” Yuuka says, her voice calm as she notes Yui’s name down on the rather short list of performers for the school festival. “Then… Kobayashi-chan, I look forward to your performance. Here.” She slides a copy of the planned schedule over to Yui, the younger girl’s name handwritten into the space of one of the time slots in the afternoon.

“Thank you very much.” Yui lowers her head thankfully as she accepts the schedule.

“No, I should be the one thanking you. I was already worried the parents who come to the festival might not get to see anything interesting because nobody is willing to prepare much.” Yuuka smiles wryly.

Not every student’s parents have the time to come to the school festival, but they receive an invitation nevertheless, and the parents who do come usually expect to see their daughters on the stage in the gym or presenting something with their classes. Even in her first year in the school, Yui has told her parents that they don’t need to come to the festival if they feel uncomfortable among the all the rich people who usually look down on them, but her parents have come to her first school festival anyways - and she is sure they will come to her second one and possibly her third one as well.

At the mention of the word ‘parents,’ Ten seems to frown slightly, but she remains silent and returns her focus to her homework. Her expression darkens even more, however, and she hesitantly raises her voice. “Uh, I have a question.”

The Student Council members exchange a quick glance before Akane gets up from her desk and walks over to Ten. “Kobayashi-chan,” she then calls out, “can you take a look at this? You’re the music expert here.”

After exchanging a slightly confused glance with Yuuka, who gives her an apologetic smile, Yui steps closer to Ten’s desk as well. It doesn’t take her long to understand what the problem is, and she grabs a pencil and scribbles down the solution. “See, if you flip the chord around this way, you’ll have the small third on top, and then it’s which chord?”

“C major?”

“Exactly.” Yui gives her an approving nod. “That’s how it works. Does it make sense to you now?”

Ten nods, a small smile on her lips as she moves on to the next tasks. Once more, she slides her exercise book over for Yui to look at it before she seems satisfied with the explanation she received. Thus, Yui decides to leave the Student Council office - she already did what she came here for, after all.

The relatively short time before the school festival goes by without any further incidents, much to everyone’s relief. Yui has chosen to perform a song that she has sung, and played on her guitar, countless times before, so she is fine with the fact that she doesn’t have as much time to practice as she normally would; however, she still ends up spending a little less time with Risa and Aoi than usual.

When the school festival finally comes around, most of the students have calmed down and returned to their normal lives without the almost palpable tension that hung in the air while Yuuka was gone and shortly after her return, but even so, they are not very excited for the festival. Yui hears from Hikaru that Ten in particular is not excited because many students are going to see their parents for a day while Ten’s own parents most certainly won’t have the time to come to the festival, and a part of her feels a little sorry for the first-year student she met in the Student Council office.

Despite everything, on the day of the school festival, the parking lot in front of the school is filled with expensive cars and limousines (and the small, much cheaper car that belongs to the parents of Yui who is there on a scholarship) and the crowd of parents slowly moves from the parking lot to the entrance of the school building.

Yui finds her parents in front of a food stall set up near the gym by a few third-year students. “Hey, long time no see,” she starts with a small smile but before she can say anything else, her mother pulls her into a tight hug.

“It’s  _ so _ good to see you again. How have you been doing?” her mother starts, looking around as if she’s looking for someone else, for any friends Yui might have brought to meet them (which she did not). “Has everything been going well?”

“Well, if you ignore the accident…” Yui trails off, causing her mother’s eyes to widen.

“An accident? Did you-”

“No no, it wasn’t me. Sugai-san had a horse riding competition and she… well, got into an accident there. But everything is slowly going back to how it used to be.” She does not mention the tension in the student body that is mostly gone, but still not forgotten about; her parents are not aware of the feud between Risa and Yuuka and the fact that their daughter is so ‘directly’ involved with it, and Yui plans to keep it that way.

A concerned expression spreads on her mother’s face. “Is Sugai-chan alright now?” she asks, always worrying more than necessary.

Yui tilts her head to the side slightly. “She’s still recovering, but I believe she’ll be okay. Seems like her leg was broken pretty badly, so she’s still in a wheelchair, but she must have been feeling well enough to leave the hospital and come back to the school.”

Her mother still seems a little worried, but she does accept that Sugai Yuuka is not her daughter and that the Student Council President will be fine eventually.

After making a little more small talk with her parents, Yui excuses herself by declaring that she needs to go to the gym and prepare for her performance. Just like the last time she did this, her performance goes very well and she receives an enthusiastic applause from the audience; and as she looks through the gym, just before she gets off the stage, her eyes find Risa near the back wall. This time, she did not tell her friend that she was planning to perform; but either Risa guessed it or Aoi heard it from Minami and relayed the information to her.

Seeing Risa there gives Yui just the burst of courage that she needed.  _ I’m going to tell her now. _

And thus, while the other people in the gym stay where they are to watch the remaining performances, Yui leaves the stage and, much to her relief, meets Risa and Aoi just outside the gym.

“Your performance was nice.” Risa is the first one to speak up when they meet, and somehow, it surprises Yui a little. Maybe Risa is actually making a bit of an effort to be nicer now.

Yui smiles at her thankfully. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, you were really good,” Aoi agrees eagerly, grinning. “I wish I could sing like that.”

“You’d just need a little practice, probably.” Yui chuckles, but then her expression turns a little more serious again. “Aoi, can I talk to Risa for a moment? We’ll meet you again after that.” If Risa does not accept her feelings, Yui decides that everything will be fine if she can just  _ act _ like everything is fine.

Aoi looks a little surprised, but she seems to understand something that Risa doesn’t seem to realize because suddenly, the other second-year student looks less confused than their older friend. “Alright. I’ll go and see if I can find some snacks.” She gives them an ok sign and walks off toward the school building.

Yui and Risa stay behind in awkward silence. “So, what do you want to talk about?” Risa finally asks, breaking the silence hesitantly.

Yui takes a few more seconds before she replies, carefully choosing her words. “There’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while now. Risa, I… have feelings for you.”

Risa looks genuinely shocked and confused. “Y-You do?”

“Yes. It’s been like that for a few months.”

“But… Manaka is waiting for me.”

Yui’s heart clenches, even though this is the response she expected. “I know. I know that. It’s fine. I just wanted you to know how I feel.” She starts to turn away, as if to take a few steps away from Risa, but suddenly, a hand takes hers and holds onto it tightly.

Risa’s voice is quiet, almost shy, as she speaks up. “Give me some time, okay? I… need to think about this.”

“No, it’s okay. I get it, you still love Manaka-san. Of course you do, and you made a promise with her and that’s fine. I don’t want to ask you to break up with her or anything.” Yui tells herself not to feel disappointed; she knew that Risa loves Manaka, she knew that she cannot ask Risa to leave her girlfriend behind when she has no means of even contacting her to tell her that their relationship is over.

But then, much to her surprise, Risa’s arms wrap tightly around Yui’s body so that the younger girl’s back is pressed against Risa’s. “Stop, Yui.”

“W-what are you doing?”

“I don’t want to lose you. Can we do… something like a trial phase?”

Yui’s eyes widen slightly. “A  _ trial phase _ ? How is that supposed to go?”

Risa lets go of her and shakes her head, a troubled expression on her face. “I don't know yet. But… maybe that way we can see what it would be like if we were dating, and by the time I graduate, we can make up our minds regarding… well, Manaka and our- our relationship.”

The younger girl hesitates for a few moments. She has never heard of anything like a ‘trial phase’ for relationships, but this might be the closest she will ever get to dating Risa. “I… I think I’m okay with that.”

The older girl looks relieved at that. “Thank you. I’m not sure I’ll be able to kiss you if that’s what you want, but…”

“No, that’s fine. We’ll go at your pace, it’s okay.”

It is not okay. Yui is aware that she will end up feeling hurt if they do things this way; she is aware that she will only be a substitute for Manaka. But she tells herself she can handle that, as long as she can make Risa’s remaining time in the school even a little bit more enjoyable.

The silence between them feels slightly more comfortable now that they are on the same page, but nevertheless, Risa breaks it soon. “We should get going. Let’s see if Aoi found the snacks she was looking for?”

Yui nods, and as she starts to walk towards the school building, she notices that Risa’s hand is still holding onto hers. The smallest of smiles lifts the corners of her mouth as she decides not to say anything, lest Risa realizes what she is doing and lets go of her.

They find Aoi in the foyer of the school, sitting on a cushioned bench and chewing on a snack. “There you are,” the youngest girl smiles at them, but since she is sitting and her friends are dating, the first thing she sees is Risa’s hand and the way it is intertwined with Yui’s. “Oh, are you…”

Risa’s hold on Yui’s hand loosens and she slowly pulls her hand back, silent.

Yui smiles wryly. “Not really. We’re in a… trial phase, Risa called it.”

Aoi looks confused at first, but then she seems to remember Risa’s relationship with Manaka. “Ah. Then, uh… good luck figuring everything out?”

“Thank you.”  _ We’re going to need that _ , Yui thinks to herself as they follow Aoi through the hallways towards the small exhibit that the art club has prepared. She does notice that the younger girl seems a little quieter now that she saw them holding hands, and for a moment Yui feels almost a little bad for taking away the person she knows Aoi likes - but just a little. After all, she tells herself, Aoi could have confessed to Risa earlier, if she had really wanted it.

* * *

The first-year students find that the school festival is not quite what they expected from such a prestigious school. Matsuda remembers having seen a TV coverage about the school’s elaborate, high-quality festivals a couple of months before her enrollment, but what they are experiencing now feels - not necessarily less enjoyable, but definitely less elaborate and well-prepared.

Most of the first-year students don’t actually mind that very much, though Matsuda, who has joined the choir, uses the time they spend together during dinner that evening to make the declaration that she is planning to sign up for a performance in the next year. “And some of you play instruments too, right? You should sign up too, maybe we could all do something together. Right… Seki-chan?” she addresses one of the girls who she knows play an instrument.

Seki nods cautiously, a shy smile on her lips; next to her, Karin seems to sink deeper into her chair, her lips pressed tightly together.

As expected, it is not Seki but Riko who rats Karin out, a cheerful tone in her voice as she says, “Karin plays the sax too.”

Not everyone knew about that - Seki does because she has talked about her hobbies with Karin, and Riko knows because she has seen Karin stash her baritone sax into the furthest corner of the space under her bed on the day of her arrival in the school.

The short-haired girl lets out a high-pitched whine and hits her roommate’s upper arm. “You weren’t supposed to tell anyone!”

A chuckle breaks out in the group of students and they exchange amused glances. Riko has no bad intentions when she does things like this, but they all understand that Karin always feels like her roommate is throwing her under the bus.

Realizing that Karin is not in the mood to talk about her saxophone skills, Matsuda steers the conversation away from that topic. Despite that, Seki leans closer to Karin and whispers to her, “Well, if you ever want to play something together, you can tell me.”

A small smile spreading on her lips, Karin nods slightly. “Yeah, I know.” They have talked about this before. “Thanks.”

On the next day, the students are asked to take down their decorations from the school festival - this is the cleaning staff’s task, but some of the decorations come from the theater club’s stock and need to be taken back to their respective spots on the shelves and in the boxes. And just like that, the atmosphere in the school is almost back to normal.

Yuuka is back in the school and the school festival is over, so everyone returns their focus to their studies. Just like everything else, the volleyball practices also go back to normal, much to the relief of Hono - until she is called to the changing room by Risa in the middle of one of their practice sessions a few days after the festival.

Nervousness fills Hono as she heads to the changing room, but also hope; she has been practicing hard and making sure to show Risa her skills, so maybe - just maybe - she will finally be made a regular player now rather than the bench player that every first-year student starts out as.

Risa looks serious when the younger girl steps into the changing room. “Tamura-san.”

“Yes.” Hono stays near the door, a little cautious. “Why did you call me here?”

“You’re friends with the girl who joined the Student Council, aren’t you?”

Hono’s heart clenches, disappointment washing over her. “You… you mean Ten?”

“I don’t know what her name is. The one with the long hair who always has it in a ponytail.”

Ten has told them that she is not a member of the Student Council, that she is only lending them a hand because Yuuka asked her to, but Hono knows that Risa is not aware of that; to her, it must look like she is one of their members because Ten goes to the office every day. “She’s not a-”

Risa doesn’t let her finish. “You thought I wouldn’t notice that you’re that close to them?”

Hono’s eyes go wide with shock. “I- I’ve never even talked to them!”

“You’re friends with that Ten girl. And that other friend of yours, the small one - she’s been going around asking everyone about things that she shouldn’t be so interested in.” Risa does not look at Hono. 

A desperate sigh escapes the younger girl’s lips. “Risa-san… Ten is my classmate, I can’t avoid her all the time. And Hii-chan is my roommate.”

“Then make your decision.”

“W-what? My decision?”

“Between this club and them. People who associate with the Student Council are not welcome here, you know that.”

Hono can only stare at Risa in shock for a few moments. She was aware that she might be made to choose, ever since ever since she learned with how much of a passion Risa hates the Student Council, but hearing the words like this hurts much more than she has ever imagined. “I… what if I can’t choose? I love volleyball...”

Risa’s voice is quiet and serious, though she is still avoiding Hono’s eyes. “Then I will ask Yu- Sugai to move you to a different room. She usually doesn’t refuse when I ask her for things like that.”

If Hono wasn’t so upset about being forced to make a choice  _ now _ , she might have had a thought along the lines of ‘well, she’s probably trying to make up for whatever happened to make you hate her.’ “No, I wasn’t done yet,” she says, her hands clenching to fists. “I was going to say… I love volleyball, but I don’t think I can leave my best friend behind for it.”

The older girl seems ever so slightly surprised now. “Are you sure? You’re a good player… I was thinking about making you a regular, had I not found out about this.”

That almost makes Hono reconsider her decision - but then she remembers how many of her volleyball games Hikaru has gone to despite having no interest in volleyball, and she remembers how fun their sleepovers are, and she knows that Hikaru would likely never choose sports over their friendship.

“Yes, I’m sure. Hii-chan has been my friend for so many years… I’m not going to completely ignore her all of a sudden. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll take my leave.” Her voice sounds bitter, but she walks past Risa without hesitation to pick up her bag.

Hono feels Risa’s eyes on her as she leaves the changing room, so she tries her hardest to appear calm and collected until she is out of the older girl’s line of sight. Only when she has stepped out of the gym does she allow herself to break into a run, dashing along the pathway back into the school building.

(Risa watches her leave with the tiniest hint of guilt coiling into the pit of her stomach. A part of her feels satisfied now that she has gotten rid of another ‘supporter’ of the Student Council, but a small voice at the back of her mind tells her that Yui is not going to be happy about this. “No, it’s going to be fine,” the short-haired girl mutters to herself, rubbing her forehead briefly.

Yui has no right to be mad. This is Risa’s club,  _ Risa _ is the captain,  _ she _ needs to do what is best for the club. And that is what she did; she kicked Hono out because the Student Council would only hurt them through this ‘connection’ between them.

She clears her throat and lets out a long breath, running a hand through her hair. “It’s fine,” she mutters to herself, the words barely audible; after all, there is nobody who needs to hear her anymore. “I did the right thing.”

Despite that, she doesn’t feel much better when she leaves the changing room. A part of her feels almost bad for robbing Hono of the chance to fulfil her dreams, but it’s too late now.)

When she arrives at her room, Hikaru is not back from the art club yet; of course, the club hours are not over yet. Hono stifles a brief sob as she drops her gym bag and kicks it under her bed - she has no need for it anymore. Maybe she can join Hikaru in the art club, though she is certainly not the greatest artist, or see what the choir is like.

She busies herself with the console that Hikaru told her she could borrow whenever she wants, and she is deep into a game of Mario Kart, about to win a race, when the door to their room opens, the sudden sound startling Hono so much that she drops the console and inevitably loses her race. “Hii-chan,” she whines, turning to look at her roommate. “You scared me. I lost the race because of you.”

Hikaru’s eyebrows rise, a curious expression on her face as she closes the door. “You’re here already... did your practice end early?”

Brought back down to earth with a jolt, Hono lets out a heavy sigh. “I’ll always be here earlier than you from now on.”

“What? Why?”

“Because… I’m not a member of the volleyball club anymore.”

The shorter girl’s eyes go wide and she looks genuinely shocked. Hono already feels bad about telling her the truth. “Is it… because of me?”

Her roommate smiles sadly. Hono’s thoughts are racing; she does not want to blame Hikaru for this. But still - “It’s more about Ten than about you, I suppose… because she’s with the Student Council a lot these days. But Risa-san isn’t a fan of your investigation either.”

“I’m so sorry, Hono-”

“Don’t be. I had the choice between you and the club… and I wasn’t going to leave my best friend behind. And besides, I can probably join the club again next year when Risa-san has graduated.”

Silence falls over them. Neither of them knows what to say anymore, and Hono can tell that Hikaru feels guilty. Thus, she breaks the silence by putting on a smile as she speaks up. “Let’s go and see where the others are. They’ll cheer us up.”

Hikaru nods, but remains quiet. She is clearly still mulling over what Hono has told her - which is only understandable, considering that Hono, too, feels disappointed by the fact that she likely won’t be playing volleyball with anyone for the remainder of her first year. She is losing precious time because of this -  _ but her friendship with Hikaru is more important _ .

They find a few of their friends in one of the common rooms, watching a movie. Matsuda instantly seems to notice their grave expressions, but when Hono presses a finger against her lips, she remains silent until the movie has ended. Only then does Hono give her a slight nod, and Matsuda jumps at the opportunity. “What  _ on earth _ happened to you? You look like your grandma died… and you two don’t even have the same grandma.”

Hono shakes her head, smiling wryly; just as she expected, Matsuda is trying to cheer them up. “It’s nothing like that. I…”

“She got kicked out of the volleyball club because of me,” Hikaru blurts out, visibly frustrated.

“No, I said it’s not your fault-”

“Right, you said it was Ten’s fault.”

Matsuda’s eyes go wide; clearly she has never expected Hikaru to say something like that. “What…”

The short girl doesn’t even seem to realize what she just said, her mind clouded by the guilt that came upon her when she found out that her investigation is coming to one of the worst outcomes she had anticipated. However, the fact that she just put the guilt on Ten does not make her feel any better either.

Hono lets out a long, heavy sigh. “I didn’t mean it that way,” she mutters and turns to Matsuda to explain, “I had to choose between the club and my friends because… Risa-san has seen how much time Ten spends with the Student Council right now, and she apparently knows about Hii-chan’s investigation too.”

The other girl frowns, clearly dissatisfied with that explanation. “That’s cruel, she shouldn’t be allowed to do that. Would it help if you talked to the President or a teacher about it?”

“I don’t think so, no.” Even though she doesn’t want to, Hono has already given up on the thought of getting back into the club while Risa is still the captain. “If I talk to Sugai-san, I’ll probably lose any possible chance to get back into the club. It’s… it’s fine, I can handle this. I’ll just join the club again once Risa-san leaves the school.”

Matsuda still doesn’t seem very happy, but she accepts Hono’s decision with a small nod. “Well, we’ll find a different club for you, then. Don’t worry, we’ll find a solution for this.”

  
Hono gives her a weak smile. “Thank you.” At least she still has her friends - maybe the loss of her hobby won’t be  _ that _ horrible after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Here](https://twitter.com/_satoshioris/status/1332986121731575808) is a thread on Twitter where I talk about my thoughts about this AU and where I'll post updates!
> 
> The warnings in the tags don't apply to all chapters; when they apply, it will be mentioned in an author's note.


	11. 09

The afternoons that Ten spends in the Student Council office become more and more enjoyable for her. She goes there every day and Minami, even though Akane told her not to, always has snacks in her pocket that she offers to the younger girl.

Doing her homework is not that annoying when she has a senior to help her and another senior who rewards her for it, Ten realizes, and she stops complaining whenever Akane tells her to do her homework.

Yuuka watches this development with satisfaction. Although this is not entirely the effect she knows Akane was hoping for - which would have been to intimidate Ten to the point where she is too scared to tell anyone that she saw the two of them kiss - it does seem like Ten has indeed been keeping their secret, though out of affection rather than out of fear.

One evening, Akane tells Yuuka that she thinks Ten might have learned her lesson, to which Yuuka reacts far more negatively than expected. “You mean you don’t want her to meet us anymore?”

Akane’s eyebrows furrow slightly. “You want her to keep spending every afternoon with us? Even though you were the one who told me to be kinder to her…”

“That’s not what I mean. It’s more that… I like her, Akane.”

Her girlfriend’s frown deepens. “You like her?”

Realizing what she just said, Yuuka tries to backtrack quickly. “No, I don’t  _ like _ her. What I mean is, she’s… cute, isn’t she? In the way that a little sister would be cute. And I don’t think she hates us either.”

“Right, she likes Mii-chan because Mii-chan gives her candy.” There is a hint of frustration in Akane’s voice.

Yuuka sighs softly. “She’s not scared of you anymore either, if that’s what you’re worried about. So I think as long as she doesn’t ask us to leave her alone, we can keep meeting her. Of course… we should probably tell her that she can stop spending every day with us, if she wants.”

Akane stays silent, but she nods in agreement.

Thus, when they meet Ten in the afternoon of the following day, Yuuka smiles up at the first-year student awkwardly. “Ten-chan,” they’re close enough at this point that Ten asked them to call her by her first name, “there’s something we want to talk to you about.”

For a split second, the old nervousness from when they first met Ten glints in the younger girl’s eyes. “I didn’t tell anyone about your secret, I promise.”

“I know, I know,” Yuuka quickly agrees. “That’s not what this is about. Akane and I… we think you won’t tell anyone about what you saw, so if you don’t want to come here every day anymore, you don’t have to.”

“Really?” Ten looks genuinely surprised, but then a hint of disappointment seems to steal into her voice. “I… guess if you don’t want me to come here anymore, I’ll stop.”

Akane clears her throat; she usually lets Yuuka have all the important conversations with Ten, but seeing how Ten apparently does not want to stop meeting them, an idea has crossed her mind. “Listen, Ten-chan. There’s a task I have for you, if you want to do it.”

Ten perks up, and Yuuka turns her head to look at her girlfriend in surprise. “What is it?”

“I haven’t been attending my tennis practice since we came back to the school, but I need to start practicing again, so someone’s going to have to take care of Yuuka when I’m not around.”

This task of ‘taking care of Yuuka’ entails nothing but pushing her wheelchair to wherever she needs to go, but on a whim, Akane has realized that maybe Ten just wants a reason to keep seeing them.

“Oh, I would love to do that.” Ten pauses for a moment, looking at Yuuka. “I mean, if it’s okay for you, Sugai-senpai.”

A smile spreads on Yuuka’s lips and she nods. “It’s absolutely fine.”

“Great, that’s settled then.” Akane finds herself smiling as well as she reaches out to pat Ten’s shoulder. “In that case, we’ll make sure to ask you when we need someone to help us out.”

The younger girl nods and goes to sit at the desk that she has used so often that it can practically be considered hers at this point. However, as she takes out her books to do her homework, she remembers how the phone on Yuuka’s desk rang only a short time ago when Yui came to sign up for a performance during the school festival, and she speaks up again. “By the way, Sugai-senpai… before the school festival, someone called you when Kobayashi-senpai was here, right? What was that about?”

“Ah…” Yuuka pauses for a moment, but then nods. “Right, I didn’t get to tell you all yet. That was about the competition where I got injured. Someone from the staff called and said that they found out what caused the accident.”

All the girls in the room perk up. “And you didn’t tell us?” Minami asks, incredulous. “What caused it - or who?”

Yuuka smiles apologetically. “They said it was one of the other riders. Apparently my horse wasn’t the only one whose horseshoes were manipulated.”

A collective sigh of relief goes through the room. “That’s great,” Fuyuka mutters. “That means we’re not lying when we say Risa has nothing to do with it.”

“Yui told me that Risa didn’t seem as happy about it as you would’ve expected anyways,” Minami adds. “That probably confirms that she isn’t the one behind it, right?”

“I suppose so,” the President agrees with a soft sigh. “Well, as you can imagine, I was very relieved to hear that. Risa may hate me right now, but I’ve always hoped her hatred wouldn’t drive her this far. I’m glad I was right about that.”

Akane nods and claps her hands, glancing over at Ten. “Well, that was a long enough storytime for now. Ten-chan still has homework to do.”

The younger girl nods with a small sigh, returning her focus to her books. She does, however, notice that Akane doesn’t quite seem ‘normal’ - the Vice President sits at her desk and works through a few documents Yuuka gave her, but she seems to look over at the windows a lot more often than usual, as if she isn’t able to focus on her work completely.

Yuuka looks mildly concerned about her girlfriend too, but she doesn’t speak up, likely trusting Akane to decide by herself when she will ask for a break.

Indeed, Akane soon excuses herself. “I have to go to the restroom, I'll be back in a minute.”

Once the door has fallen shut behind her, Ten jumps to her feet. “Me too,” she announces, already walking over towards the door.

“Ten-chan?” Yuuka asks, visibly surprised. “What?”

“I'm going to the restroom too. I'll come back and finish my homework, don't worry.” Ten marches out of the office and heads to the closest restroom, where she assumes Akane will have gone. She finds the older girl leaning onto one of the sinks, taking slow, deep breaths. “Moriya-senpai?”

Akane jumps slightly and turns around, a little confused. “Ten-chan? What are you doing here?”

“Something's not right. You're not being normal. Sugai-senpai noticed it too, I think.”

The Vice President sighs and runs a hand through her hair and shakes her head. “That's not for you to worry about.”

“But you  _ were _ normal until I asked about the phone call, so I think it was me who made you upset… so I think I should worry about it after all.”

“Well, I think you shouldn't.” Akane puts on her most threatening expression - but Ten has lost her initial fear of her over the past few days.

“Sugai-senpai won't like it if you keep being like this. She'll be sad, and you don't want that, right?”

Another heavy sigh leaves the older girl's lips. “There's something you don't know about us.”

Ten purses her lips. “I think there's a lot of things I don't know about you.”

“That's right, but this is something  _ big _ . Something we haven't told anyone, except for Fuu-chan, Mii-chan, and Habu-chan.”

“So you're not going to tell me.”

“That depends on how good you are at keeping secrets… well, you've been doing well so far.”

The first-year student raises an eyebrow, remaining quiet; she doesn't quite know what to say to that, but she does feel a little relieved because apparently Akane is satisfied with how she has been keeping what she saw a secret.

“Well,” the Vice President continues seriously after a glance at the door to the restroom, “I'm sure you've heard of Hirate Yurina.”

Ten nods cautiously. “Who hasn't?”

“You're right. I suppose you've heard Risa's side of the story. Yuuka and I have never told anyone our side.” Akane pauses and then continues, “Risa is right, we were on the roof with Yurina that day. But Risa only came there after Yurina had fallen, so she doesn't know what actually happened.”

For a while, Akane is the only one to speak while Ten listens in silence. Her eyes narrow at some points of the story, and she looks unhappy on behalf of her senpais by the time Akane finishes. “That… sounds like a painful secret to keep.”

The Vice President smiles wryly. “It is. Yuuka doesn't want to tell anyone at this point because she fears she'll be hated for what her family did… though I don't think she could be hated any more than she is right now. It probably wouldn't make much of a difference, but I love her, so who am I to go against her wishes?”

Ten manages a weak smile as well, somewhat impressed with how much Akane seems to give up for Yuuka. “Sugai-senpai really is lucky to have you.”

“Oh, don't say that. She would do the same for me.” But Akane actually looks a little sad now. “In a situation like this, we have to stick together.”

“I'll stick with you, too.” The words come out before Ten can stop them. “Now that I know, I'll stick with you too. None of this was your fault.”

Akane closes her eyes for a moment. “Don’t say something that reckless. Maybe I shouldn’t have told you, Yuuka might get mad at me-”

“No, I would have found out about it eventually anyways,” Ten protests, hoping that she is right. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Not now, and not back then.”

“Risa wouldn’t agree with you if she could hear you say that.” But the smallest of smiles spreads on Akane’s lips as she speaks. “Well, I’m sorry I got you involved.”

“I was already involved.” The younger girl hesitates for a moment before she continues, “Hono got kicked out of the volleyball club because of me and Hikaru, so…”

Akane’s eyebrows furrow instantly. “What?”

“You haven’t heard? Hono is one of our classmates, she said she was kicked out for being too close to the Student Council…”

The Vice President groans, rubbing her forehead. “I get that Yuuka lets Risa do what she wants because she feels bad, but this is going too far. I’m gonna have a serious conversation with her.”

“Really?” Ten perks up, a little hopeful. She doesn’t quite know if it’s actually a good idea for Akane to talk to Risa, but she feels bad about Hono getting kicked out of her club through no fault of her own, so if there is any chance this might allow her classmate to return to the club, she is going to take it.

“Yes, really. I’m not going to promise that your friend will be allowed to come back, though. Risa probably won’t listen to me.”

“I know. Still, thank you.”

Akane smiles wryly. “We have to make up for our mistakes after all. Let’s go back now, Yuuka must already be worried about us.” She pats Ten’s back and starts to lead the way back out of the restroom.

* * *

“Risa did what?!” Yui’s eyes go wide as she stares at Aoi in shock. “Tell me that’s not true.”

Aoi sighs quietly. “It is true, Yui. Risa kicked someone out of the volleyball club, I heard it from one of the third-year students.”

Yui groans and lifts one hand to rub her forehead. “Who was it? Did they mention a name?”

The other girl shakes her head. “I think it might have been a first-year? But I’m not sure.”

“I thought she’d finally stopped doing that.” Yui pauses, her thoughts racing. “Was it because she was close to the Student Council?”

“I think so. I heard the girl was a pretty good player, so it clearly wasn’t because of her lack of skills.” Aoi hesitates for a moment and then continues, “Don’t do anything silly, Yui. I thought you were happy because Risa finally agreed to date you, more or less.”

Yui runs a hand through her hair, frustrated. “Of course I am, but she shouldn’t have kicked that girl out of the club for no reason.”

Aoi lets out another sigh. “I think there is a reason, in Risa’s mind.”

“I know. I know that. But it’s not fair to the girl… I like Risa, but she needs to understand that her destructive behavior is really making things hard for everyone.” Yui scribbles down a last note for the homework she was working on and starts to put her pens back into her pencil case. “I’ll go and talk to her…”

“Wait. She’s still in the middle of practice. At least wait until that’s over, okay?” Aoi places her hand over Yui’s, a hint of concern in her voice. “You don’t want to confront her in front of her entire club.”

Yui pauses and closes her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. “You’re right,” she agrees with a wry smile, already sounding a bit calmer. “Sorry, I’m just… kind of frustrated.”

They stay in the library for a while longer and finish their homework. Finally, Aoi gives her friend a small smile. “I’ll come and pick Risa up with you today.”

“What?”

“I have to make sure you two don’t end up hurting each other.” She says it with a joking tone in her voice, but Aoi seems genuinely concerned. If Risa is going to date someone else, she at least wants both of her friends to be happy and not be at each other’s throats over something like this.

Yui accepts her decision with a helpless smile and a nod. The two of them pick up their bags and leave the library, and as they walk down the hallways to head out to the gym, they bump into a much shorter girl. “Morita-san?” Yui asks in surprise.

Hikaru perks up, looking a little relieved. “Kobayashi-senpai! I’m glad to see you. Have you heard that Risa-” She falls silent when she realizes that Yui is not alone. “Oh…”

“This is Harada Aoi,” Yui introduces her classmate to Hikaru. “She’s my classmate and friends with Risa, too.”

“I see… nice to meet you, Harada-senpai. I’m Morita Hikaru.” Hikaru gives Aoi a small nod and receives a smile from the other girl.

“And how do you know each other?” Aoi asks curiously. “Yui doesn’t interact with younger students that much.” Yui and Hikaru exchange a brief glance, but before they can give a response, Aoi seems to come to a conclusion herself. “Oh! Are you the girl who’s been investigating the incident?”

Hikaru’s eyes go wide. “You’ve heard about me? Are there that many rumors going around about me?”

Aoi shakes her head, smiling wryly. “That’s not what I mean. It’s just… Risa knows. She says you’re too curious about things that you shouldn’t be so interested in.”

Noticing that that is not what Hikaru wanted to hear, Yui quickly changes the topic. “Morita-san, you said you were glad to see me. What did you want to tell me?”

The shorter girl sighs in discomfort, staring down at the floor. “I was wondering if you’ve heard that Risa-senpai… kicked Hono out of the volleyball club.”

“Aoi just told me,” Yui sighs, a wry smile on her lips. “I’m sorry about that, Morita-san. I’m on my way to talk to Risa about it. I wasn’t aware that the girl she was talking about is your friend, though.”

Aoi’s wry smile has turned into a frown. “Well, but that makes everything even worse, doesn’t it? If you ask Risa to let that Hono girl come back to the club, she’ll probably figure out that you’re friends with Morita-chan here… she’s not  _ that _ dumb.”

“That’s right, but I still need to talk to her. I’ll find a way to make it seem… well, not so obvious.”

Her younger classmate looks skeptical still, but she nods slowly.

“I’m sorry I’m getting you into trouble too, Kobayashi-senpai.” Hikaru seems to deflate ever so slightly. “It’s because I got so interested in Hirate-san…”

Yui pauses for a moment, thinking, and then shakes her head. “You don’t have to feel so guilty. I understand that you feel bad because of your friend, but I would probably have questioned Risa’s actions even if you hadn’t asked me for help. So don’t worry about the consequences it might have for me, okay?”

Hikaru still doesn’t seem very convinced, but she nods, apparently accepting that there is nothing she can do about the situation now. She mutters a ‘goodbye’ when Aoi and Yui leave, and still sounds dissatisfied as she does so, but she doesn’t try to stop them.

The two second-year students head towards the gym to meet Risa in silence. Yui is thinking about how she might be able to address this topic without making Risa think she was siding with the Student Council, which is obviously always something she needs to be careful about around the older girl.

Risa looks mildly surprised to see both of them there since it is usually only Yui who comes to pick her up, but she seems happy enough to have both of her friends there. She looks a little exhausted - maybe the entire situation is taking a bit more of a toll on her than Yui expected. “Is something wrong? You two never come here together.”

The younger girls exchange quick glance, and then Aoi shakes her head quickly. “No, there’s not really anything wrong… but Yui wants to talk to you.”

Risa still looks a little confused, but she inclines her head slightly as a gesture for Yui to go ahead.

Yui sighs quietly and clears her throat. “I heard you kicked a girl out of the club.” She doesn’t mention Aoi’s name, not wanting Risa to get mad at Aoi too. One of them will need to calm Risa down after this conversation, and if Yui is the one who makes Risa mad, Aoi will need to be the one to calm her down. “Was that really necessary?”

“She was too close to the Student Council.” The older girl’s voice is cool as she responds, though there seems to be a hint of pain in her eyes.

“From what I heard, it’s her roommate and one of her classmates who are kind of close to them. Tamura-san herself isn’t.”

“Please don’t always question my decisions, Yui.” Much to their surprise, Risa sounds tired rather than angry. “I did it for the club.”

“Does anyone in the club, with the exception of you, care about the Student Council at all?”

Risa falls silent. For once, she seems more exhausted and frustrated than mad. “I don’t want to talk about this right now,” she mutters. “I’m not proud of my decision, but what’s done is done.”

Yui’s eyebrows furrow; this is the first time she hears Risa say that she feels bad about her actions. “You feel bad about it? Really? You don’t usually say that.”

She doesn’t receive an answer; Risa remains silent as she speeds up her steps towards the school building.

The two younger girls exchange a concerned glance and then follow her, silently deciding that they’ll have to try to figure out what about the entire current situation bothers Risa so much.

That night, as they are getting ready for bed, Aoi is just coming out of the bathroom when Risa suddenly speaks up. “Aoi, do you think I'm a bad person?”

The younger girl's eyes widen in surprise. “What? Why would you think that?”

“Sometimes I wonder… if that's what Yui thinks about me.” Risa sounds hesitant to admit that, but at the same time a little guilty.

Aoi smiles wryly. “I don't think she thinks that way about you. She asked you to date her, right? Would she have done that if she thought you were a bad person?”

“But what if she regrets it?”

“...even if she regrets it, so what? You always talk about how your beloved Manaka is waiting for you.” A hint of bitterness steals into Aoi's voice.

Risa sighs heavily. “Yes, but… I don't want Yui to regret it. Besides, who knows if Manaka will still want me when she hears what I've done.”

Aoi's eyebrows furrow slightly; this is the first time she hears Risa talk about her feelings this openly. “Risa, I don't think you're a bad person. All I think is… that you're a little too afraid of being hurt again. I mean, that's why you behave like this, right? Because you lost Hirate-san and Manaka-san, and you're… afraid of losing someone else?”

The older girl remains silent, but eventually inclines her head, giving the smallest of nods.

“Maybe you should just try to trust Yui and me a little more,” Aoi says gently, walking over to sit on her bed. “No matter what anyone does… no matter what the Student Council does,” she clarifies, knowing that they are the ones Risa blames her struggles on, “we won't leave you. You won't lose us because of someone else… but I think if you keep acting like this, you're just going to disappoint Yui.”

For a while, it is silent in the room. Then, Risa quietly speaks up again. “So what do you think I should do?”

“Well… you’re probably not going to let that Hono girl back into the club… but at least make sure you don’t kick anyone else out, okay? I think that could be a first step. And maybe you should make up your mind regarding your relationship with Yui, too.”

“That’s… I’d need to talk to Manaka for that.”

“But she’s not here. And besides, there’s no guarantee that she’s still waiting for you, right?” Realizing that her words may have sounded a little too harsh, Aoi backpedals a little. “I mean, uh, who knows what she’s doing right now. But… that’s your decision, I guess. Just don’t make Yui too sad, Risa. She doesn’t deserve that.”

The older girl lets out another heavy sigh. “That’s precisely why I asked you what I’m supposed to do. It’s not like I’m  _ trying _ to make her sad.”

Aoi is quiet for a few seconds, but then she smiles wryly. “For the time being, just don’t hurt anyone who doesn’t have anything to do with the incident. Yui will appreciate that, I’m sure.”

Risa nods slowly. “Okay, I’ll try.”

“Thank you. Can we go to bed now?” After receiving a nod from her roommate, Aoi turns off the light and slips under her blanket.

“Aoi?” In the dark, Risa’s voice is even quieter than it was before. “I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“For… well, I’m sure I’ve hurt you too.”

Against her will, Aoi finds herself smiling at nobody in particular. “Yui and all the students you hurt need the apology more than me.”

“...you’re right. Good night, Aoi.”

“Good night, Risa.” Their room becomes quiet as they close their eyes, but both of them don’t go to sleep for a while.

* * *

“Good work, everyone! Let’s meet up tomorrow for the last shoot!”

Everyone bows and mutters goodbyes to each other as they start to leave the shooting location. Shida Manaka, who is currently working as an assistant photographer as a part of her training to become a ‘real’ photographer, picks up her bag and wants to leave the premises. Turning on her phone to check the time, she notices that-

“Shida-san!” her boss calls her name, causing her to stop in her tracks with a slight frown.

However, of course, she doesn’t ignore him. “Yes?”

He jogs over to her, offering her a USB stick - and Manaka’s frown deepens ever so slightly. She knows that this never means anything good. Indeed, the older man speaks up only seconds later, “These are the photos from today. Can you get five of them edited by tomorrow?”

She remains silent for a moment, trying to figure out what an appropriate reaction to his request would be. “I- five of them,  _ completely _ edited?”

“No.” - Manaka breathes out a sigh of relief. - “A rough first edit will be good enough, it’s supposed to be a preview of our work for the client.”

“Of course I can do that.” She knows she doesn’t have much of a choice, if she doesn’t want to get into trouble. As a student, she wouldn't have cared, but now, she has to be more of an adult. “I’ll mail them to you so you can look over them and bring the USB stick with me tomorrow.”

Her boss gives her an approving nod, pats her shoulder as he tells her ‘good job’ and then leaves her alone. Manaka watches him leave with an expression of dissatisfaction, but finally, she tells herself that it’ll be fine and that she can edit the photos while sitting on the sofa, curled up under a blanket, with a movie playing on the TV.

She hurriedly leaves the building, just in time to catch the bus on the other side of the road that will take her to the apartment where she will be spending the night. Neru has a late-night shift at the hospital tonight, so it’s Manaka’s turn to take care of Yurina, who became paraplegic after she fell off the roof of their former school.

The bus turns corner after corner, slowly bringing the girl closer to her destination. She drowns her surroundings out using the music that blasts into her ears from her headphones, closing her eyes. The song that is playing right now is one she has never cared for much - but it was Risa's favorite. It brings her mind back to a time at the beginning of their first year at Sakurazaka Gakuen, before any incidents started happening.

And then, the bus comes to a halt in the street that Yurina and Neru's apartment is situated at. Manaka jumps to her feet and slips out through the door just before it closes. As she walks down the street towards the building in question, she digs through her pocket, pushing her boss's USB stick deeper inside and instead taking out her key ring. The bigger key is for her own apartment just a few streets away; the slightly smaller one is the spare key to the apartment that Neru shares with her girlfriend Yurina.

This is the key that Manaka holds onto now. She pushes her headphones off her ears before she enters the building. Then, she knocks at the door twice before she unlocks it in order to alert her friends of her presence. “I'm back,” she announces as she closes the door behind herself and kicks her shoes off.

Neru peeks out of the kitchen, clad in an apron over her regular clothes. “Manaka, it's good to see you. How was your day?”

“Good, but my boss gave me some photos I'm supposed to edit overnight. Guess I won't be sleeping in a bed tonight,” the short-haired girl jokes with a wry smile. “Need me to lend you a hand?”

“No, I'm good. Go and say hello to Tecchan.” Neru waves her hand dismissively, a smile on her lips.

Manaka gives her an ‘okay’ sign in response and heads over into the living room. She finds Yurina sitting on the sofa, looking a little tired. “Techi,” she speaks up, drawing the younger girl's attention away from her phone and to herself. “I'm back.”

“Welcome home, Pippi.” Yurina is the only one who calls her by that nickname; not even Risa adapted to it. “You still have work to do?”

“Yeah, sorry; I know I promised to watch a movie with you tonight, but my boss wants me to edit some photos for him. Want to help me out and tell me if they look good?”

Yurina hums in agreement; she likes it when Manaka asks for her help. After her release from the hospital, she struggled emotionally for a while because she felt like she was being a burden on her friends; thus, Manaka and Neru have taken to asking for her opinion or help whenever they can as a way of making her feel more useful. “Of course I’ll take a look at them.”

Manaka gives her a thumbs-up and puts down her bag next to the sofa, starting to unzip it in order to take out her laptop - but in that moment, Neru calls their names, notifying them that dinner is ready. Manaka carefully lifts Yurina off the sofa and puts her down in her wheelchair - she is experienced at that now after doing it almost every day for a year and a half - and pushes the wheelchair to the small dining area that only has two normal chair at its table.

As Manaka sits down, Neru picks up the remote control of the TV to switch the device on just like she usually does; they always watch the news during dinner. For a while, they eat in silence, but then the topic of the news shifts to something that they never expected to hear.

_ “Sugai Yuuka-san, daughter of the headmaster of Sakurazaka Gakuen, got injured in an accident during a horse riding event.” _

Manaka reaches out to grab the remote and turn off the TV - for Yurina's sake, they have avoided talking about Sakurazaka Gakuen whenever they can - but Yurina shakes her head, placing her hand over her best friend’s. “You can leave it on.”

“Are you sure?” Neru asks, a concerned expression on her face.

“Yeah. In fact, there’s something I’ve been thinking about,” Yurina continues, putting down her chopsticks. Her plate isn’t empty yet, but Neru always gives her more food than she actually ends up eating in the hopes that maybe, Yurina will eventually start to eat a little more.

Neru and Manaka exchange a brief, slightly worried glance. “What is it?” Manaka finally asks.

“It’s not that long until our… I mean, their graduation ceremony.” Yurina pauses for a moment, seemingly thinking about how to speak her mind properly. “I want to go back to the school.”

Manaka is the first one to react, pure shock visible on her face. “ _ What? _ ”

Quickly, Neru tries to intervene, not wanting the younger girl to get upset. “Why that, Tecchan? You only have bad memories of that place, don’t you?”

Yurina nods slowly. “It’s not  _ only _ bad memories, but you have a point… but still. I want to let them see how I’m doing.” She doesn’t clarify who  _ they _ are. Possibly she means Yuuka and Akane specifically, or maybe she is simply referring to the student body as a whole.

“Will they even let us in?” Manaka asks, doubtful. After all, the school shuts its students off from the ‘outside world,’ with the exception of Yuuka who has always been allowed to go out for her riding lessons.

“If we attend the graduation ceremony as visitors, yes. They let people in for that, right?” Neru muses.

Yurina watches them with a hint of a smile on her lips. “You're both saying ‘we,’” she remarks quietly. “Does that mean you're coming with me?”

Manaka hits her shoulder gently, laughing. “Show me how you're going to get up the stairs at the entrance on your own.” The grin fades from her lips and she returns to a more serious expression. “No, seriously, of course we're coming with you. We have to tie up some loose ends at school too.”

“Oh… Risa.” Neru nods knowingly, remembering that Manaka never officially broke up with her girlfriend and former roommate. “I wonder if… I mean, how she's doing.”

Manaka’s eyes narrow slightly. “If you wanted to say ‘if she's found someone else,’ Risa wouldn't betray me like that. We agreed to wait for each other, and she has never broken a promise with me.”

For a moment, it is silent at the table. Yurina is the one who breaks the silence, patting her best friend's hand. “We know, Pippi.”

The other short-haired girl lets out a long breath. “Right… sorry. I just really want to see her again.”

“Of course.” Neru smiles wryly, returning her focus to the news show on TV. The report on the event that Yuuka got injured at is over already, so her eyes stay trained on her food as she eats and listens to the following reports. When she is done, she gets up and brings her dishes to the kitchen sink. “Can I leave this to you, Manaka? I'm four and a half minutes late for my usual bus already.”

Four and a half minutes isn't much and there is one more bus that Neru can take that will get her to the hospital in time; she just likes to arrive a few minutes early to be safe. Manaka sighs - she doesn't enjoy doing the dishes, but it's a necessary evil. “Yeah, sure.”

“Thank you.” Neru comes back to them and leans down to kiss Yurina briefly, whispering a ‘sleep well later’ against her lips. “See you tomorrow, Manaka, Tecchan.”

Manaka heads to the sink to clean the dishes once Neru has left, leaving Yurina to play a game on her phone for a short while, and then she returns to the younger girl. “So, you still want to watch that movie I promised you?”

“Won't it distract you from your work?”

“No, that's fine. I'm just editing some photos, not doing anything super complicated.”

“Then I'd like to watch something, yes,” Yurina agrees, using her arms to push herself up on the armrests of her wheelchair in order to shift her position a little before Manaka pushes her back to the sofa.

Manaka lifts her back onto the sofa and puts the DVD of a movie that she knows Yurina likes into the DVD player. She presses the play button and returns to the sofa, now taking her laptop out of her bag. After switching it on, she connects the USB stick she received from her boss with it and opens the folder that contains the photos from the day's shoot. “Here, Techi. I need to edit five of these, want to help me choose which ones?”

Giving her a nod, Yurina turns her head to look at the screen of Manaka’s laptop and points at the photos that she likes most.

Thus, they spend the evening like that - on the sofa, with a movie playing on the TV, while Manaka edits her photos and occasionally asks Yurina for her opinion. By the time she finishes, the younger girl seems to feel sleepy, her head already resting on Manaka’s shoulder.

“Let me just send an e-mail to my boss really quick, okay?” Manaka murmurs into her ear, already opening the e-mail program on her laptop. “I said I'd mail him the edited photos so he can look at them.”

Yurina hums sleepily and nods, patiently waiting for her best friend to turn off the laptop and the TV.

Finally, Manaka puts her laptop away and gently pushes Yurina to the side to make her sit up straighter. She gets up and puts the younger girl down in her wheelchair before pushing her over into the bedroom. They don't talk as Manaka helps Yurina put on her pajamas and takes her to the bathroom to get ready for bed; only when they are back in the bedroom, and when she has lifted her best friend onto the bed, Manaka speaks up again. “So, how are you feeling?”

“Hmm… tired.” Yurina yawns, a weak smile spreading on her face afterwards. “But not bad.”

“Okay, great.” Manaka nods in satisfaction. She closes the curtains and then returns to the side of the bed. “Good night, Techi. You know you can call for me if you need anything.”

“I know. Good night, Pippi.”

Manaka keeps an eye on the bed as she retreats to the door, but then switches off the light and steps out into the hallway. She doesn't close the door completely, so that she'll be able to hear Yurina calling for her  _ just in case _ , and then heads to the second bedroom - the guest room where she sleeps so often that it is practically  _ her _ room. Quietly humming to herself, she gets ready for bed, makes sure to leave her door half-open as well, and then slips under the blanket, falling asleep almost as soon as her head hits the pillow.

She wakes up a few hours later, not quite able to tell why exactly she can't sleep anymore. Normally, she doesn't wake up from Neru coming home - her friend has perfected the art of opening and closing the door so quietly that it almost can't be heard, and she moves around the apartment and goes to bed in complete silence as well.

Manaka can see the light shining from the kitchen into the hallway, however, so she decides to get a glass of water and say hello to Neru before going back to sleep. The kitchen is empty when she enters it, so she takes her glass of water and then heads to the master bedroom to check on Yurina.

She finds Neru leaning against the doorframe of the master bedroom, watching her girlfriend sleep with a solemn expression on her face. “Hello, Manaka,” the long-haired girl speaks up quietly, not looking at her friend.

“Hey.” Manaka stops in her tracks a couple of steps behind Neru and takes a sip from her glass. “Do you always watch her sleep? That's kinda creepy, isn't it?”

“Oh.” Neru looks surprised for a moment, but then shakes her head. “I don't  _ always _ do it. I just wanted to make sure she's okay.”

“I know, I know.” Manaka chuckles quietly and then goes silent again. After a few moments, she takes a step back and starts, “Well, I'll go back to-”

“Wait,” Neru interrupts her. “I think we need to talk.”

The other girl raises an eyebrow. “What, did I put your plates in the wrong cupboard again? I thought I'd finally remembered it right.”

For a moment, Neru looks confused, but then she shakes her head again, smiling. “No, that's not it. The plates are perfectly fine. I meant, we should talk about Tecchan.” She gestures at the sleeping girl in the bedroom, her smile fading. “Do you think it's a good idea to take her back to the school?”

“Well, we already said we'd take her, right? She'll be disappointed if we say she can't go now. And besides, she can make decisions like that for herself.”

“Yes, but… is it really a good idea? I'm not just thinking about her, but also… about Yuuka and the others. Won't seeing her again make Risa upset?”

Manaka is quiet for a few seconds, then she shrugs. “If you're worried about Yuuka being hated even more… wouldn't it make people hate her less if they saw that Techi is alive? I mean, I'm sure some students think she might have died because they probably never heard anything about us after we left.”

Neru nods, albeit visibly reluctant. “I just don't want anyone to get hurt by us showing up there. Maybe they're all fine without us.”

“I think Techi needs it, though. To get closure, you know? Maybe she wants to talk to Yuuka about what happened… maybe she wants to tell everyone that she forgives Yuuka.”

The young nurse sighs quietly. “Maybe you have a point.”

“She's a big girl now.” A small grin spreads on Manaka’s face and she takes another sip from her water. “She can make her own decisions, and if this is one of them, then  _ I _ certainly won't stop her.”

Neru smiles weakly as well. “You're just saying you'll take her there because you want to see Risa again.”

Manaka raises her free hand as if surrendering. “You got me. But really, if you don't want to come, it's fine; she'll accept that, too.”

“No, I'll come, of course.” But suddenly, Neru seems to realize something. “What about Yuuka's parents?”

“What about-  _ oh. _ ” Manaka’s cheerful expression falls, but then a smirk returns to her face. “They can't do anything to us, we're not their students anymore.”

Neru smiles weakly. “You might have a point there.”

“In that case, can I go back to bed now?”

“Of course. Good night, Manaka. I'm sorry I woke you up.”

The short-haired girl waves her hand dismissively. “It's fine. Good night.” With that, she retreats to her bedroom, leaving Neru behind to finally take off her nurse's uniform.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Here](https://twitter.com/_satoshioris/status/1332986121731575808) is a thread on Twitter where I talk about my thoughts about this AU and where I'll post updates!
> 
> The warnings in the tags don't apply to all chapters; when they apply, it will be mentioned in an author's note.


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